DATE: Tuesday, April 29, 1997               TAG: 9704290459

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Column 

SOURCE: Tom Robinson 

                                            LENGTH:   72 lines

ADMIRALS TEST WATERS BEFORE MAKING JUMP (OR BELLY-FLOP) TO AHL

The fact-finding is ongoing, but chances appear decent that the Admirals, sometime in the next few years, will bolt the East Coast Hockey League for the higher-level American Hockey League.

This, I think, could be a good thing, especially if the Admirals' southern sisters like Richmond, Charlotte and Charleston also buy into the AHL, as many expect.

As we already have with the Tides and Triple-A baseball, I like the idea of giving the people a better quality hockey product across the board, while maintaining some of the player-fan familiarity that is fostered in the lower minors.

From a civic perspective, I like the idea of competing against teams from Philadelphia, Cincinnati and Providence (though the AHL's Saint John and St. John's franchises are bound to prove a mite confusing).

Also, I like the idea of ditching a league that would dare realign the Admirals, one of its cornerstone franchises, into a new division with non-entities Johnstown and Wheeling, against their will.

Jeff Sias agrees. He is a businessman, the executive director of the ``Greater Norfolk'' Sports Council - the name isn't really Greater Norfolk, but two nothing words whose initials are H.R. are no longer mentioned in this column - and he sees the AHL idea as a positive jolt for the region.

``I think it's always good to move up when you can,'' says Sias, who courts sports opportunities for the Chamber of Commerce. ``In order to be fresh and effective, you always need to look at and consider change.''

But Nancy Franklin is a fan, the president of the Admirals' booster club, and she's not so sure.

``I think a lot of people would like the move,'' Franklin says. ``But I'll tell you something else, a lot of people would be unhappy about it.''

Franklin's own reservations center on two things that have helped cement the Admirals' phenomenon since 1989; price and the interpersonal relationships you can get for your money.

It costs eight bucks for an Admirals' ticket, $2 to park beneath Scope and a few more dollars for a dog and a beverage. Most people can bring the kids, in other words, again and again without thinking too long.

By doing so, they increase their ability to meet and mix with the players, most of whom are just starting careers and are receptive to being befriended and eager to reciprocate.

Like that, you get a rabid, loyal following and a team that becomes a community fixture.

``No other fans in the ECHL spoil their team as our fans spoil the Admirals,'' Franklin says.

Hockey that is a step from the big leagues is a rarer item. It demands a more exclusive investment from owners and fans - probably a $2 to $3 per game ticket increase, not to mention concessions and parking. Plus, with the deal, you get an NHL parent club that tightly controls more highly paid, veteran players who are apt to be less fan-friendly. The Admirals recruit and sign most of their own players.

All of this is just part of why Page Johnson, the Admirals co-owner, treads lightly around the entire AHL subject.

By checking out every AHL angle, he is being a prudent businessman. That includes surveying within the next few months the club's approximately 3,100 season-ticket holders to get their feelings.

So far, Johnson's initial homework tells him one thing.

``The NHL seems on an upswing, and if more teams are on the upswing there will be more marketing dollars from TV,'' Johnson says. ``That's going to free up more money to support minor league hockey and it will become a more lucrative market to be in.

``What I'm telling you is in five years, the AHL may be the place to be. The next one-to-four, the ECHL isn't a bad deal.''

Then again, if the season-ticket base balks in numbers, that could tell Johnson something more concrete.

``If 2,000 of my 3,100 say they don't want it,'' Johnson says, ``I'm going to be very skeptical about moving.''

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