DATE: Tuesday, October 21, 1997             TAG: 9710210424

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   94 lines

CITY TO ADMIRALS: AHL OR 0-U-T TEAM'S LEASE WITH SCOPE CALLS FOR A MOVE UP BY 1999

The Hampton Roads Admirals have signed a three-year extension of their Scope lease that requires the team to move up to the American Hockey League by the 1999-2000 season, sources say.

The Admirals might move to the AHL as early as next season if they are able to secure an acceptable working agreement with an NHL team.

The move would place the region's three professional sports teams one step below the major leagues. The Norfolk Tides are in the Triple-A baseball International League and are affiliated with the New York Mets. The Hampton Roads Mariners are in the A-League and are affiliated with Major League Soccer's D.C. United.

The new lease, an extension of the agreement that expires after this season, was signed by the Admirals over the weekend and forwarded Monday to city officials. The negotiations took nearly a year.

Norfolk Mayor Paul D. Fraim and Admirals officials declined comment.

The Admirals have been in the East Coast Hockey League since the team was formed in 1989.

The AHL's only previous foray into Hampton Roads failed in the 1970s when the Virginia Red Wings went out of business after four seasons.

The provision calling for the Admirals to move to the AHL was inserted into the lease at the city's insistence. If the Admirals don't move up, the city can cancel the lease.

The AHL is considered the hockey equivalent of Triple-A baseball. The ECHL is roughly equivalent to Double-A baseball. The Admirals are affiliated with the AHL's Portland (Maine) Pirates.

Sources say the city may renegotiate the lease once the Admirals have moved to the AHL. The Admirals say their costs will rise between $600,000 and $800,000 a year in the AHL. Though ticket prices likely would rise and the team would play five more home games in the AHL, the Admirals have told the city the additional revenue won't make up for the higher expenses.

AHL commissioner Dave Andrews delivered the same message to Fraim when he visited city officials Oct. 10. Both he and ECHL president and CEO Rick Adams flew to Norfolk recently to lobby city officials on the virtues of their leagues.

Fraim said he is aware that costs will rise in the AHL.

``I think there might be a couple of ways to increase revenue streams at Scope,'' Fraim said. ``There are some options we want to explore.''

The Admirals' average ticket price is $9.25. Most AHL teams average between $11 and $12 per ticket.

The current lease calls for the Admirals to pay the city 8 percent of ticket revenues in admissions taxes and, after taxes, 11 percent of the gate in rent (9 percent) and a box-office charge (2 percent). The Admirals don't receive a share of parking or concessions revenues, but do receive all dasherboard advertising.

The rent and box-office fee will go up to 12 percent next season but will drop back to 11 percent if the team joins the AHL.

The AHL expansion fee is $2 million, though it is expected the league would accept yearly payments over 10 years as it did with Greensboro when it jumped from the ECHL to the AHL two years ago.

The Greensboro team has moved to New Haven, Conn., to make way for the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes, leaving the AHL without a team in the South. The Kentucky Thoroughblades in Lexington and the Philadelphia Phantoms are the teams closest to Hampton Roads.

The Admirals likely would be grouped in a division with Philadelphia, Kentucky, Cincinnati, Hershey and Wilkes-Barre (Pa.), which joins the league in 1999-2000.

Johnson opened negotiations about a working agreement with the NHL's Pittsburgh Penguins, Los Angeles Kings and expansion franchise in Nashville, Tenn., over the summer but put the talks on hold until the lease was signed. The Penguins have since signed an agreement with Wilkes-Barre.

The Admirals have asked Los Angeles and Nashville if they would retain John Brophy, who has been the team's only coach, and general manager-assistant coach Al MacIsaac.

``That's a major priority for us,'' Admirals co-owner Mark Garcea said recently.

NHL teams generally provide coaches and most of the players for AHL affiliates.

The Admirals are also seeking an agreement that would allow them to sign upwards of half of their players, and thus retain some control over how good the team would be.

Adams, head of the ECHL, could not be reached for comment.

Andrews, the AHL commissioner, declined comment on the lease but said he was generally pleased with his reception 11 days ago in Norfolk.

``Obviously, our league is interested in being there,'' he said. ``It's not the simplest of equations. There are a number of obstacles that have to be addressed, but hopefully we can do it.''

One obvious sore point for the ECHL is the issue of one league moving into another's market. The AHL negotiated with six ECHL franchises 2 1/2 years ago about moving up and gained only one, Greensboro, which drew poorly without any natural rivals.

``We have a relationship with the ECHL,'' Andrews said. ``I have not done anything without Rick (Adams) being involved in it. I called him and told him I was coming to Norfolk. We're trying to avoid anything that's not up-front.''

The Admirals have said previously that they will seek to move their ECHL team elsewhere, perhaps to the Hampton Coliseum, if they move to the AHL.

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