ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, February 3, 1996 TAG: 9602050060
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
Roanoke Express president John Gagnon and general manager Pierre Paiement are in the process of putting an East Coast Hockey League franchise in Biloxi, Miss., that will begin play next season.
Gagnon's Covington-based trucking company, Canadian-American Transport, will be the primary investor in the team and will cover most of the $1.5 million expansion fee required by the ECHL.
Gagnon and Paiement will continue to operate the Express, and Gagnon insists that the Biloxi club will be ``purely an investment.''
``In no way will any of this touch the Express,'' said Gagnon, who lives in Botetourt County. ``I'm committed to Roanoke and I will continue to live in the Roanoke area. My heart is with the Roanoke Express. The Mississippi hockey team is only an investment.''
Gagnon's dealings with the Mississippi Coast Coliseum began Jan.24, one day after the ECHL owners' meetings concluded in Tallahassee, Fla. While at the meetings, Gagnon learned that one of the groups preparing to place an expansion team in Biloxi had pulled out. Subsequent talks with other owners led Gagnon to believe the Biloxi market would support hockey.
Gagnon flew to Biloxi the morning of Jan.24 and met with members of the coliseum commission, including building general manager Bill Holmes and assistant general manager Mac McDonald. By the end of the day, Gagnon had decided to put up the money for a franchise.
``You could say it was an impulse decision,'' he said.
``A lot of owners told me Biloxi was a great market, so I went down there to see if it was true. The reception I got there was incredible. It was like I had found another Roanoke. The people want hockey there.''
The ECHL is expected to give approval to Gagnon's bid on Feb.15.
Gagnon and Paiement led a group of investors that revived hockey in the Roanoke Valley in 1993 shortly after the Vinton-based Roanoke Valley Rampage relocated to Huntsville, Ala. The group paid a $500,000 expansion fee for the Express and has watched the team set attendance records in the Roanoke Civic Center.
Gagnon becomes the third ECHL owner to own more than one club. The Columbus Chill and Jacksonville Lizard Kings are owned by Horn Chen and the Wheeling Thunderbirds and Raleigh IceCaps are owned by Jay Edgar Broyhill II. League rules prohibit teams with common ownership from making player transactions - trades or waiver acquisitions - with each other.
The Biloxi metropolitan area comprises approximately 250,000 people, which would make it a mid-sized ECHL market. The Mississippi Coast Coliseum will seat approximately 9,000 for hockey.
Gagnon said he has not hired a staff for the Biloxi club but already has begun talks with several candidates for the general manager position. He also said he may look for more investors to join the ownership group.
Paiement will be a minority owner and will continue to work for the Express. Gagnon said the Biloxi franchise will in no way detract from the Express.
``There will be two sets of ideas for each team,'' said Gagnon, who plans to visit Biloxi two or three times per season. ``There will be two separate offices, two separate groups operating the teams. Everything will be separated. [The Biloxi club] won't be like the Express, where I have heart attacks at games almost.''
LENGTH: Medium: 64 linesby CNB