ECHL 2005-06 Franchise Update

[Dan K]

The February 10th edition of The Hockey News had a brief update on some of the teams that will be joining for the 2005-06 season--the Burlington (VT) team (moved out of Lexington), the Reno team, and the Ontario (CA) team (dormant Tacoma WCHL team). The Ontario team will be moving to Bloomington (IL). The article says all 31 current teams are making plans for 2004-05, but Atlantic City could move to New Orleans (former home of the Brass) and Cincinnati and Roanoke are struggling.

[REVVED]

Before Pete gets pissed...LOL

Link?

[BigMike]

I heard teams in the ECHL are in trouble,
there is an error in that article guess The Hockey News
does not realise Teams are in trouble

FYI

[SpeedFan87]

There have been some rumors floating around Richmond that Roanoke and possibly even Norfolk (AHL currently) would be joining the UHL next season, due to Richmond's relative success. The financial model of the UHL is less expensive than the ECHL, by far.

Roanoke's probably the best bet to come to the UHL, as the Express have been in financial trouble for a few years now. Norfolk is having their own problems in the AHL and may want the geographical rivalry with Richmond again.

Those are just rumors based off of a few "UHL Notes" columns in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, by the way.

[George]

There are more than jew a few teams that are in financial trouble. You can add the entire WHA2 and SEHL, as well as about seven or eight ECHL teams that are below an announced attendance of 3,000. (We know that there is a difference between announced an actual paid attendance, but owners who fudge the numbers have historically been in denial or who unrealistically believe they can succeed where others have failed. They won't.)

I can't imagine anyone moving to New Orleans. The Brass failed there because they were tossed from the new arena and playing in the ballroom arena was a joke. Even the IceGators are on thinning ice, having lost two-thirds of their fan base over the years.

When a team loses its fan base, it simply can't survive. Look at the former success stories that are now about to close shop. They can be found at the bottom of the ECHL's list of teams by attendance. For years, hockey was made ready for Beaumont, yet look at the Wildcatters' number. This doesn't bode well for that team. Besides, there are already nine CHL teams in Texas. That's too many for any one state to carry.

I think you'll see more team movement this year than ever. And I don't view the probable NHL lockout/strike as a positive. No sport can survive on a misery index.

So, as they say, we'll have to wait and see, but we will see a lot once the season ends.

[BigMike]

Look for Teams in the South either Joining SEHL or folding period
WHA2 doesn't look so well either, look what trouble they have having and the season isn't over yet. The South liked hockey at the beginning "A New experience" wore off quickly , interest declined.

Cost for travel etc , these markets are not fairing very well
ECHL Expansion reminds me of the old IHL as it expanded to far apart in the cities to keep up with the costs

A whole lot of shaking going on in hockey

Next year will be interesting to see who survives

[REVVED]

Atlantic City's not sure. Cincinnati is "supposed" to announce their intentions tonight. Bloomington, IL (Ontario, CA), is waiting for arena. Bradenton-Sarasota is scheduled for 2005-06. No word on Vermont/Lexington, Reno, or Arkansas. Victoria, BC, was having labor problems getting their arena done, but haven't heard if resolved.

Speculations: Beaumont to the CHL. South-Eastern and Central-Western teams choosing between CHL, ECHL and SEHL. Indy going from CHL to UHL. Dayton unstable and could switch to wherever Indy ends up.

Too many questions, too many problems, not enough solutions/answers - it's gonna be a long summer!

[toph2o]

http://www.echl.com/cgi-bin/mpublic.cgi?action=show_news&id=2294

30 Teams Will Take To Ice In ECHL For 2004-05
April 7, 2004

Victoria Will Be First Canadian Team In League History

PRINCETON, N.J. – The ECHL announced on Wednesday that the Board of Governors has approved voluntary suspension requests from Cincinnati and Columbus for the 2004-05 playing season. The Board of Governors also approved a Transfer of Home Territory request from DVA Sports to relocate from Columbus to Bradenton/Sarasota, Florida. The team is scheduled to begin play in 2005-06 in a $46 million, 7,400-seat multi-use arena, scheduled to open in September of 2005 in Manatee County.

The ECHL will play with 30 teams in 2004-05, including the remaining 29 teams that played in 2003-04 as well as the Victoria Salmon Kings, who will play in Victoria, British Columbia. The first ECHL team outside of the United States, Victoria will play at the Victoria Arena, a $30 million state-of-the-art multipurpose facility with a seating capacity of 7,000, scheduled to open in the fall of 2004.

The Board of Governors has approved a 72-game schedule for 2004-05 with the season beginning October 22 and concluding April 9. The ECHL is developing the 2004-05 playing schedule to be released in early May.

Began in 1988 with five teams in three states, the ECHL is the largest league in professional hockey and will have 30 teams in 17 states and one Canadian province playing 1,080 games in 2004-05. There have been 253 ECHL players that have advanced to the NHL, including a record 36 players in 2003-04 that appeared in the NHL after playing in the ECHL. The ECHL has affiliations with 21 of the 30 teams in the NHL in 2003-04 and there has been an ECHL player on each of the 30 NHL teams in 2003-04. There are nine ECHL coaches in the NHL, including Carolina Hurricanes Head Coach Peter Laviolette and Florida Panthers Head Coach John Torchetti, and there are 13 referees and three linesmen with ECHL experience on the 2003-04 NHL officiating staff. There are former ECHL coaches behind the bench on 14 of the 28 AHL teams, and the ECHL has affiliation agreements with 21 of the 28 teams in the AHL in 2003-04.