Day of reckoning in the UHL

Less than a week after the dispersal/expansion drafts made formal the loss of Missouri, Motor City, and Roanoke (and the move of Richmond to suburban Chicago)...

Second dispersal draft to be scheduled as Adirondack, Danbury withdraw from UHL.

Down to 10 teams, with three likely to be in serious trouble again next off-season, and one possibly not getting off the ground according to rumor...

Ouch.

I hate to see any city lose a hockey team. But damn. What has taken so long for some of these UHL teams to start dropping out? I have wondered for a while how teams can continue to hang on while drawing under 3,000 fans per game. Hell, Topeka would have been in the top 6 in attendance for the UHL a year ago, and our attendance was horrible.

Danbury didn't suspend operations because of attendence.....According to the league they suspended operations only because Adirondack wasn't going to be back. And it doesn't make sense to have Danbury in the league.

This will help the UHL in the long run. Besides Elmira lets stick to the Midwest. And if Williamsport PA is serious about having a team in the UHL and if they have ownership that knows what there doing then they would be a nice fit. But lets not go any further then Elmira.


Possible Conference alignement

West: Fort Wayne, Rockford, Quad City, Bloomington and Chicago

East: Flint, Elmira, Port Huron, Kalamazoo, Muskegon

Y2KOMETS32 wrote:

Danbury didn't suspend operations because of attendence.....According to the league they suspended operations only because Adirondack wasn't going to be back. And it doesn't make sense to have Danbury in the league.

Don't you think there are probably other factors that played a bigger role in that decision than either attendance or the loss of Adirondack?

Yep I do.

Probably but i don't think King Richard will ever let the fans know why.

Y2KOMETS32 wrote:

Probably but i don't think King Richard will ever let the fans know why.

So what does he think?? Were stupid and we really don't know the truth and we won't find out.

I want to see a team in Indianapolis

uhlfans wrote:

I want to see a team in Indianapolis

Keep wanting -- with the lease in the hands of the son in law of the Pacers' owners, and safely in the hands of the USHL, it's not going to happen next year, and I doubt it'll have a chance in 2007-08.

CHL and UHL should just merge.

wait... isnt there already a team in indy? or wasnt there? like the indianapolis ice or sumthin. omg who am i kidding, idk. lol

RE: Indy

Quote:

Keep wanting -- with the lease in the hands of the son in law of the Pacers' owners, and safely in the hands of the USHL, it's not going to happen next year, and I doubt it'll have a chance in 2007-08.

Hans is correct but the below, if it actually happens, may change the hockey landscape in Indy. If the Junior Team does in fact build an arena, I could see the UHL moving into Pepsi Coliseum as soon as the Indiana Ice vacate for their new digs. I know the UHL has been trying to find a way into Indy for years now. Probably 3 years out but there is now potential for an ice venue to free up.

The proposal is for a new 5000 seat arena on the northside of Indy. Indy badly needs a new ice-capable arena. Pepsi Coliseum is run down and not in the best area of town. Conseco Fieldhouse is too high-end to be a viable option for minor league hockey. Seems silly if you are going to take the time to build an arena you would cap capacity at 5000. It's just a matter of time before the USHL Ice fold. A new arena is not going to matter, amateur hockey is never going to catch on in Indy. With such small capacity, when the USHL is gone, would have been nice to have a new 8-10,000ish seat arena to take a run at an AHL franchise.

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http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_action=doc&p_docid=11308B8ACEE18A30&p_docnum=1

Indiana Ice looking to build new arena
Hamilton County targeted for $25M, 5,000-seat facility
Author(s): Anthony Schoettle aschoettle@ibj.com

Indiana Ice owner Paul Skjodt is rolling out a plan to build a 5,000-seat hockey arena in Hamilton County to keep his team skating into the black. If he pulls it off, he could be the first franchise owner to achieve long-term financial stability in Indianapolis' seven-decade hockey history. To fortify his effort, Skjodt recently hired a vice president of sales and marketing-someone with experience launching new arenas-and launched a grass-roots marketing campaign he hopes to parlay into profitability.


Skjodt, 48, said the franchise is breaking even, but he needs more control of revenue sources like luxury suites and concession outlets to secure the team's financial future. Now, the team plays in the 7,800-seat Pepsi Coliseum, which Skjodt said would need a major renovation to keep the Ice.

He isn't tipping his hand on sites for a new arena, but Skjodt already is putting together a financing package and said he'll likely seek state and county assistance to build the $25 million facility. He'd like to have it done within three years.

"It's not really a secret that we've been looking to build a new facility on the north side," said Skjodt, a native of Canada who played minor-league hockey for the Indianapolis Checkers in the 1980s. "We need something that is more in line with newer arenas around the country and in our league."

Founded two years ago when Skjodt bought the assets of the Indianapolis Ice, a minor-league team that folded in 2004, the franchise has established itself as a top-flight under-21 amateur squad in the U.S. Hockey League.

Skjodt chose Hamilton County as the franchise's future home because he said nearly three-fourths of ticket buyers live there or in northern Marion County. Sports marketers said the suburban location also would get the Ice out of the crosshairs of Pacers Sports & Entertainment, which operates Conseco Fieldhouse downtown.

Pacers officials had objected to a plan by a former Indianapolis Ice ownership group that proposed an 8,000- to 10,000-seat arena near downtown.

"When you start talking about trying to attract events beyond hockey to an arena that seats between 8,000 and 10,000, you're talking about direct competition for a lot of the acts the Pacers bring into Conseco," said Milton Thompson, president of Grand Slam Cos., an Indianapolis sports marketing agency. "Event hosting is a big revenue stream for the Pacers."

Skjodt, who is married to the daughter of Pacers co-owner Mel Simon, said he has talked to Pacers officials about his proposal.

"We're not interested in competing with the Pacers," he said. "If we have a 5,000-seat arena, we think we can work with Conseco Fieldhouse to handle some of the events they can't."

Skjodt thinks he can attract 130 to 150 non-hockey events per year to a facility with 75,000 square feet of convention space. Ticket sales for those events would augment the extra revenue from luxury suites and concession sales. The Ice has 30 regular-season home games and last year averaged 4,800 spectators per game.

The recent hire of Canadian Joe Kantor, 33, is a big step toward growing the franchise and starting on the stadium project, Skjodt said. Kantor worked for the London Knights hockey franchise outside Ontario for four years, overseeing development of the Knights' new 10,000-seat arena-handling naming rights and other corporate sponsorships for the John Labatt Centre.

Before that, Kantor worked for the McCann Erickson advertising agency, doing sports marketing out of Budapest, Hungary, for clients such as Gillette, Coca-Cola, General Motors Corp. and Duracell. Kantor wanted to move to the Midwest to be closer to his wife's family, and Skjodt said he was a natural fit for the Ice.

"With his background in hockey and sports marketing, he had all the skills we sought," Skjodt said. "And with his experience in opening and selling sponsorships in a new arena, we think he'll be invaluable."

One of the first things Kantor did was bring on 10 summer interns to launch the "Play Hockey" youth-outreach campaign in cooperation with area YMCAs, Boys & Girls Clubs and other youth organizations. Kantor and his staff talk to children about playing hockey and set up "street games" in parking lots and gymnasiums so kids can experience the game sans the ice and skates. Pucks are usually replaced with a small ball.

"Hockey isn't like basketball, baseball and football in this region," Kantor said. "Kids don't grow up with it, so we want to introduce it to them at a young age. We think that helps grow the youth leagues, which in turn will help build a fan base for our franchise long term."

Re: RE: Indy

hack wrote:

It's just a matter of time before the USHL Ice fold. A new arena is not going to matter, amateur hockey is never going to catch on in Indy.

So, uh, what exactly does the inside of your colon look like?

The USHL team drew as many fans as the CHL team in Indy drew - so it appears that junior hockey has kind of caught on already.

The Ice also increased their ticket numbers by about 600 fans per game from their first season in Indy to their second, so its not like they are on their way down.

With over 4,600 fans per game, the Ice led the USHL last year in attendance.

Hell, the Ice drew in more fans than 13 of the 14 UHL teams last year.

I'm not saying they won't end up folding at some point - but you seem to be completely ignoring the reality of how extremely well the Ice are doing at bringing fans into games.

Quote:

So, uh, what exactly does the inside of your colon look like?

As somebody who quite obviously spends a good deal of time with his head up his, I'll defer to you.

Indianapolis is a pro sports town. Amateur basketball (excluding D1 college) would struggle here. When you're talking amateur hockey, forget it. Hockey attendance here has steadily declined since our IHL days. The CHL turned a lot of fans away. The USHL has turned away that many more. Don't buy into any USHL attendance numbers you may see. There may be that many tickets distributed per game but nobody actually in the seats. The USHL will hang around in Indy for as long as there are little Skjodts to put on the roster.

hack wrote:

Quote: So, uh, what exactly does the inside of your colon look like? As somebody who quite obviously spends a good deal of time with his head up his, I'll defer to you. Indianapolis is a pro sports town. Amateur basketball (excluding D1 college) would struggle here. When you're talking amateur hockey, forget it. Hockey attendance here has steadily declined since our IHL days. The CHL turned a lot of fans away. The USHL has turned away that many more. Don't buy into any USHL attendance numbers you may see. There may be that many tickets distributed per game but nobody actually in the seats. The USHL will hang around in Indy for as long as there are little Skjodts to put on the roster.

I know full well how the inside of my colon looks, I was asking about yours.

You could be right. However, most USHL teams break even around 2,500 fans per game I believe. All teams attendance numbers are inflated, that's just how it goes. I have a hard time believing that the Ice's numbers are inflated that much. If the team folds, I think it will be because Skjodt loses interest and no one wants to pick it up, not because of a lack of fan support.

Personally, I expect to see the AHL back in Indy at some point.

Quote:

However, most USHL teams break even around 2,500 fans per game I believe. All teams attendance numbers are inflated, that's just how it goes. I have a hard time believing that the Ice's numbers are inflated that much.

Well, consider this. They supposedly averaged over 4600 fans/game last year. They are proposing building a 5000 seat arena to the tune of 25 million dollars. Does it makes sense to spend 25 Mil for the opporutunity to draw 400 additional fans per game? Makes no sense. That should tell you the numbers are pretty frick'n inflated.

Agree on the Indy having the USHL until Skjodt loses interest. That will coincide with him running out of family members to put on the roster. As for the AHL, would be nice but for that to happen, we need a new venue in town. I don't see the AHL wanting to move into Pepsi Col. It's too rundown for AAA hockey. The rent at Conseco Fieldhouse is too high for the AHL. They'd have to average 10-12K/game there to make it. Not going to happen. New venue is pretty much the only way I see the AHL coming to town. A 5000 seat arena is too small for the AHL though.

A 5000 seat arena is too small for the AHL though...


Works in Colorado......