THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, March 7, 1995 TAG: 9503070396
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 90 lines
The Hampton Roads Admirals will move up to the American Hockey League next season if an NHL proposal to restructure minor league hockey is adopted, ECHL sources say.
Under the plan, the Hampton Roads, Charlotte, Greensboro and South Carolina franchises would leave the ECHL and join an expansion team in Baltimore in a new Southeast Division of the AHL.
The NHL also proposed that the AHL acquire five franchises from the International Hockey League - Indianapolis; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Kalamazoo, Mich.; Peoria, Ill.; and Cleveland - which would form a new Midwest Division.
The 59-year-old AHL, one step below the NHL, would be a major step up for the Admirals. AHL teams have direct affiliations with NHL teams, which provide virtually all their players.
A move to the AHL would bring dramatic changes for Admirals fans. The schedule would expand from 34 home games to 41, and ticket prices would increase. Admirals tickets now are $6 and $7, among the lowest in the ECHL. AHL tickets average about $10.
The Admirals have a working agreement with the NHL's Washington Capitals, but it is doubtful the Admirals would continue working with the Caps, whose AHL agreement with Portland runs another season. More likely, they would acquire an agreement now held by an IHL franchise.
If implemented, the NHL plan would escalate a growing war with the IHL, which has moved into two NHL markets and is threatening to become a second major league. The plan would strip the IHL of all of its NHL working agreements and shift them all to the AHL.
ECHL markets such as Charlotte and Norfolk are being eyed by the IHL as expansion cities, one IHL source said. The NHL apparently is moving quickly to shore up those markets for its highest minor league.
The NHL plan would form a partnership between the AHL and ECHL - essentially making the AHL the NHL's Triple-A league and the ECHL its Double-A league.
Relations between the ECHL and higher leagues have been informal, with the higher leagues taking players at will but providing little financial assistance.
The NHL has proposed that the higher leagues provide help, including at least five players per team, something the ECHL has been seeking since its inception seven years ago.
The ECHL, in return, would lose its four best draws. South Carolina (8,502), Charlotte (7,869), Hampton Roads (7,596) and Greensboro (6,422) have average attendance figures surpassing every AHL team except Providence.
AHL owners will discuss the plan today by teleconference and are expected to endorse it. The ECHL's board of governors will meet Thursday in Charlotte, when the proposal is expected be discussed along with the formation of a players' union.
The proposal surfaced only two weeks ago, and it is uncertain whether it will be accepted by the ECHL. Richmond, Roanoke and Raleigh, which would lose natural rivals, might oppose it.
When asked about the proposal, Hampton Roads president Blake Cullen said: ``I have not spoken with anybody in the AHL. Nobody from the AHL has contacted me and I have not contacted them.'' He would not comment further.
However, sources in other ECHL cities say the Admirals have agreed to move to the AHL if the three other ECHL teams agree to go, if the Admirals receive guarantees on scheduling and budgeting, and if they can retain coach John Brophy. NHL teams usually provide coaches for their AHL affiliates.
AHL commissioner Dave Andrews issued a ``no comment'' when asked about expansion by the Rochester (N.Y.) Democrat and Chronicle, but added: ``Our league is very attractive from a player-development point of view. I think it's something we should act on as quickly as possible. I believe there's some urgency to do that.''
Sources said an NHL official was in Norfolk on Friday, briefing Admirals officials on the proposal. He watched the Admirals defeat Raleigh, 5-3, before 8,815 at Scope - nearly twice the average attendance in the AHL.
The AHL is divided into three divisions.
The Southern Division has Syracuse, Rochester and Binghamton, N.Y.; Hershey, Pa.; and Cornwall, Ontario.
The Northern has Albany and Adirondack, N.Y.; Portland, Maine; Providence, R.I.; and Springfield and Worcester, Mass.
The Atlantic Division has five Canadian teams - Prince Edward Island; Fredericton and Saint John, New Brunswick; St. John's, Newfoundland; and Cape Breton, in Nova Scotia.
Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa., is scheduled to come into the league in 1996-97.
Norfolk had an AHL franchise in the early 1970s - the Virginia Red Wings, one of four hockey teams that succumbed to poor attendance in Hampton Roads. However, the Admirals have been at or near the top of the league in attendance in each of their six seasons and have won two ECHL championships. by CNB