THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 12, 1995 TAG: 9503120405
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C14 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Long : 105 lines
Even if the American Hockey League is unsuccessful in acquiring the Hampton Roads Admirals and three other East Coast Hockey League franchises next season, major changes are coming to minor league hockey.
Listen to Ray Compton, president of the International Hockey League's Indianapolis Ice.
``Things can't remain as they are,'' he said. ``Minor league hockey is unstructured and unbalanced. . . . An earthquake of cataclysmic proportions is coming.''
And it should be welcomed.
Minor league hockey is upside down, with the AHL considered the sport's top developmental league and the ECHL somewhere in the middle. That's crazy, for when it comes to market size and attendance, the ECHL is by far the superior league.
The AHL is composed primarily of small markets in Canada and the Northeast that draw small crowds. Providence, R.I., is the only market with more than 1 million people.
Twelve of the 15 AHL teams play in arenas that seat fewer than 7,000. Many franchises, especially those located in smaller Canadian cities, are losing money.
The ECHL, meanwhile, has planted roots in the fast-growing Southeast and has five markets with 1 million or more residents, including Hampton Roads (1.6 million) and Charlotte, which boasts NBA and NFL teams. Jacksonville, Fla., another new NFL city, comes into the ECHL next season.
And this is the league that provides players for Adirondack, Hershey, Saint John and Cornwall?
The franchises the AHL wants to wrest from the ECHL - Charlotte, Greensboro and South Carolina, in addition to Hampton Roads - have a composite average attendance of almost 8,000, nearly double the AHL average.
Norfolk's Scope, which seats 8,990, is the smallest of the arenas in the four cities.
Is there any wonder the AHL is seeking to grab the ECHL's Big Four? The wonder is it didn't happen sooner.
Admirals veteran Dennis McEwen has long predicted a shakeup in minor league hockey.
``I've thought for years that the ECHL will supplant the AHL as hockey's top developmental league,'' he said. ``We're in the big markets. They're not.''
Something akin to that still might happen. One ECHL official has proposed that the league's best eight teams withdraw and form their own league to rival the AHL.
More likely, though, the best of the ECHL and a handful of IHL teams will be absorbed by the AHL to give hockey a true Triple-A developmental league.
Sources say Indianapolis has applied to join the AHL and that one or two other IHL teams will follow. Other sources say Richmond officials are lobbying furiously to be included among the foursome from the ECHL.
It's too soon to predict what will happen. AHL officials won't make a formal pitch to the ECHL teams until later this week.
The terms of the proposal are unknown, but one thing can be said with certainty: If the AHL expects the teams to pay anything but a token entrance fee, the deal is dead.
Hampton Roads president Blake Cullen said he has been told by the ECHL that he would forfeit his franchise and all fees due from league expansion - a total of perhaps $2.5 million - if he moves to the AHL. To expect him to give up so much, and then pay for a franchise, is too much to ask.
Regardless, Hampton Roads deserves to move up.
Norfolk is not a Double-A city. Hampton Roads is the largest metropolitan area in the nation without a major sports franchise and has undergone a minor league sports renaissance in recent years.
The Admirals are among minor league hockey's attendance leaders. And since the opening of Harbor Park, the Norfolk Tides have been one of minor league baseball's best draws.
The fans will pay a price for better hockey: higher ticket prices, from the current $6 and $7 to perhaps as high as $10.
The city of Norfolk, too, will need to make some adjustments. Improvements are needed at Scope, even if the Admirals remain in the ECHL. The Admirals' offices are too small even for an ECHL club. Compared to Charlotte's palatial home, the Admirals' offices are paltry. They need to be tripled in size.
Officials are considering proposals to enlarge seating for hockey at Scope, and they deserve immediate consideration. One idea includes building a press box above the stands and putting seats where the press tables are located.
Another includes adding seats on the floor behind each goal and putting up nets to protect the fans in those seats from pucks. Similar nets are up in many minor league rinks.
Why not do both?
The Admirals, too, must make changes. Cullen will have to enlarge his staff. Season-ticket sales will need to be increased. And they need to find a new practice facility. Scope isn't always available, and Iceland, the Admirals' Virginia Beach home away from home, probably isn't adequate for the AHL.
Perhaps it is time for the city of Norfolk to put together a comprehensive proposal that would entice the Admirals to change their moniker from Hampton Roads to Norfolk. Officials persuaded the Tides to drop Tidewater from their name with a new stadium and a generous lease.
Provide Cullen with a deal on concession sales equal to what the Tides receive. Build the Admirals appropriate offices, and give them the promise of a new arena down the road.
Regardless, do whatever can be done to help bring the AHL to Norfolk, for in spite of its small-time setting, AHL hockey is a giant step above the ECHL. The players are bigger, faster and more skilled.
Perhaps a third of the AHL Admirals will have NHL experience. Some players will skate at Scope one night, then skate in the NHL the next.
In other words, this is one earthquake worth waiting for. by CNB