WHA is history

[Global-Hockey]

The folks of the soon to be only a memory WHA are scheduled to have a press conference next Tuesday to make an announcement about the league. The Detroit franchise will probably cease operations at this time, as they no longer are dealing with the Pontiac Silver Dome for ice and office space. The Dallas franchise is also getting ready to shut down operations. This league has one coach and GM, no players signed, no arenas to play in, no radio or TV deals, no PR people. They stated that they will not sign locked out NHL players, and as of yet they have not even signed a single player from the so called draft, held two months ago. There is no schedule drawn up, and the start of this league has now been pushed back to November. This is a venture that is dying on the vine, and it should finally come to a rest Tuesday. (Rest in Peace WHA, we hardly knew ya)

[HockeyFan2]

Do you have a link to a story or is this all where you read all over the place with bits from different articles?? Tuesday hmmm??

They way they held the draft was clue number 2, clue number 1 was the WHA2 mess

[Global-Hockey]

That is a direct fax into my office from the WHA league office. I don't do the "you read it there" routine. My information comes direct from the sources that make the news.

[judge]

Are you getting anything else on your office fax? Nothing released in the public from what I can see, and nothing new as far as a conference or update.....

[Global-Hockey]

The promised conference never happened. The Detroit franchise lost the Silver Dome so no ice there. Dallas was waiting for the news conference but since that never happened, I have strong information that they will pull the plug on that franchise by the middle of next week. The other teams? This has always been a paper league with the exception of Detroit and Dallas who were actually building a staff and making plans. The Locked out NHL players have no interest in playing in this league. The college kids they drafted (ya right-to bad the players didn't know they were drafted) have no interest in this league. I have talked to uniform makers and not one has been approaced to make a jersey, no pucks have been made. This is not going to happen.

[judge]

Well, if you hear anything more please post the info- obviously no news will be coming out of "traditional" sources like open press releases in this league either.

[HockeyFan2]

WHA slapped their own faces didn't they??

They made a spectacle of themselves in the media

It was their own doing , that is a switch

Global-Hockey I was just inquiring if there was a link to your infomation, someone faxing you with the infomation is even funnier
"a direct fax into my office "

are you a member of the press??

Are they too embrassed to acknowlege the fact that they put the cart before the horse on this venture. :oops: Planning for two years or more to find an "empty net"?

[HockeyCanuck]

They made the major mistake in pro sports of not having everything set in stone before they started making announcements and press releases. How can they expect anyone to buy tickets if there isn't even teams to go watch and no marketing? They have been sending out press releases about nothing pretty much just to keep the name out there. Had anyone heard anything about this last press release where they denied any reports of a WHA sale to the NHL? Their release is the first I ever heard of it and living in Canada where hockey is the first thing on the sports news even in july and august when not much is going on we would have heard about it. They hold adraft where Bobby Hull spends an hour there and when asked whats going on he doesn't know if the league will play or not. I am thinking there are more important things to worry about than a player draft like having teams to draft them.

[Global-Hockey]

Lets just say for the purpose of this board, that I am involved in the sport of hockey in a professional way.

[Global-Hockey]

WHA is a thing of the past. The league has folded before it dropped the first puck. When locked out NHL players elected to play in the low minors other than this league, that was the death bell for this league.

[dmbishop]

Well, I guess the end has come. As of this evening, the WHA website is down.

Dave

[Global-Hockey]

You are correct, the so called new interest is no more, and the WHA President never really gave anybody the name of who these so called money men were. The Detroit franchise is still hopeful, but then I plan on winning the Lottery too. Best darn paper league I ever saw.

[jaymister]

The WHA has a new owner and is supposed to start in January.

[Global-Hockey]

The new owners as of this point own a couple typewriters and desks as well as a league name, but no teams. They have already stated that starting the new WHL at this point is a losing venture. Don't expect a new WHL anytime soon.