contraction?

[go_rascals]

I had season tickets for the Missouri River Otters this season. At our last game on Saturday the buzz was that four teams, including the Otters, would not return for next season. I assume that two would relocate to Illinois, and no one here would be surprised if the team did fold.

[Minor League Man]

Nah, it was the Kansas City Outlaws that moved to Bloomington, I think.
And Richmond has been speculated as the one moving to Chicago.
Right now I'd say Missouri and Roanoke are toast, and rumor has it Quad City might go AHL.

[rams80]

Nah, it was the Kansas City Outlaws that moved to Bloomington, I think.
And Richmond has been speculated as the one moving to Chicago.
Right now I'd say Missouri and Roanoke are toast, and rumor has it Quad City might go AHL.

KC's just gone after last year, its not Bloomington
Richmond's going to Chicago
Roanoke, if it moves is speculated to become Bloomington
Flint went from dead to very much alive
Missouri's not looking good.
Quad Cities should return to the UHL.

[#1 Guard Fan]

Well hopefully any markets on the east coast that teams leave the SPHL will take a look at. I know the overhead cost has got to be cheaper with a SPHL team than UHL. We know for sure Richmond is coming over next year and a few more teams would be nice. It would suck for the UHL but the fans would still have hockey and at a good level too

[go_rascals]

I imagine the travel costs for any minor league stretching from New York to Missouri have to be very expensive. Perhaps the league will actually grow more stable financially by reducing expenses.

[cylon555]

I thinck if the UHL wanted to grow they sould try and get some ECHL teams
like Toledo, Dayton, Wheeling, Johnstown, Reading, Trenton and theres that
CHL team in Youngstown would be hard but worth it

[killer kaminski]

I had season tickets for the Missouri River Otters this season. At our last game on Saturday the buzz was that four teams, including the Otters, would not return for next season. I assume that two would relocate to Illinois, and no one here would be surprised if the team did fold.
I think Otters fans are going to be in for a pleasant surprise.

[patmc16]

In the past couple of days both Motor City and Roanoke's owners have announced that they are done.

[Pounder]

The Motor City announcement appeared to indicate relocation rather than outright folding.

Is there a fib in progress? Or can anyone pinpoint the new location?

[rams80]

They're reportedly looking at Traverse City.

[patmc16]

Traverse City is the most common location mentioned if the franchise were to survive. The problem is that the biggest arena seats about 1k each at its 2 rinks. They would have to build an arena which, of course, would require the franchise to go dormant for a season. The other possibility that has been suggested is a move to Missouri to replace the River Otters if they are not sold (and therefore go defunct). Since the ownership here is local, I would be surprised if that happened. I expect that they will go defunct. The entire front office was let go about 3 weeks ago. Head coach Danton Cole was the only one retained by the franchise. He has recently been announced as a new assistant coach at Bowling Green University. They have no players (they do hold the UHL rights to last years players), no coach, no front office, and no arena to play in. Any incarnation of the franchise would have to be built from the ground up in a matter of 4 months. I just don't see it happening.

Unfortunately, I don't see me getting my deposit back on next year's season tickets either.

[Minor League Man]

Doesn't Traverse City have a NAHL team that got done with their first season and is coming back next year?

I would look at Gary, Evansville, or Battle Creek first.

[patmc16]

Doesn't Traverse City have a NAHL team that got done with their first season and is coming back next year?

Yep. The North Stars play at Centre Ice, the 1K seat arena I mentioned. Actually, they are not seats. The arena has bleacher style seating. A complete season of sell-outs in the U at Centre Ice would result in a loss for the owner (assuming ticket prices comparable to the league average). Plus, an UHL franchise would have to compete with the NAHL team for ice time, which I understand is pretty scarce as it is.

Battle Creek is about 15-20 minutes from Kalamazoo. The owners in K-zoo would have something to say about another UHL team moving in next door. Their fan base includes BC. Gary is an interesting idea that I haven't heard before. Is the arena that the Steelheads play in set up to hold an ice rink? If so, how many would it hold for hockey? They should have at least 3-4k.

[rams80]

Doesn't Traverse City have a NAHL team that got done with their first season and is coming back next year?

I would look at Gary, Evansville, or Battle Creek first.

Battle Creek: too close to K-zoo
Evansville: I doubt the arena's large enough
Gary: Greater Chicago has 3 teams already.

[nksports]

They're reportedly looking at Traverse City.
I can see the new baseball team making it there. The population swells in the summer. A lot of businesses (hotels and motels) shut down in the winter. That town seems too small for a pro winter sport.

[HockeyFan70]

Evansville has roberts stadium which is a great facility but they don't have ice capability so they say "no" to hockey.