Bombers moving to Hobart?

[Tombor]

It was brought it up in another thread that either the Dayton Bombers should move into Hobart or a CHL team should be place there. A buddy of mine that works at Wright State's radio station and who has a job with Sports Service (the company that does concessions for sporting events at Nutter) heard a rumor that the Bombers are moving to Hobart next season. Anybody hear anything similar? I'd figure the Bombers would move back to Hara if they were going to move into another arena in the area...

[nksports]

I don't think Hobart would be big enough for the CHL or the ECHL. It might work for the UHL. Miami County would be an interesting market for pro sports.

Nutter's a little too big for the Bombers. When you're only filled to about 1/3 capacity, even a good crowd for minor league hockey looks bad.

Hara might be a better fit for the Bombers. I know they played a game or two there sometime ago due to conflicts at Nutter. I used to see many a Gems game there. It's old-fashioned and not the easiest place to find in town but every seat is a good seat.

Frankly, IMHO the best hockey tenant for Nutter would be the Wright State University men's and women's varsity hockey programs (OK, they don't exist yet, but a guy could dream). A WSU team in the CCHA would find natural rivals with Ohio State, Miami and Bowling Green. The women's team could join the WCHL with OSU.

[Tombor]

Wright State is building a new, small, sports complex across from Nutter that's supposedly going to be the new home for the men's team.

I know Nutter Center is WSU property but I can't see it being that great for the Raiders either... I guess the men's team drew pretty well at Hobart and Hara this past season, at least that's what I've been told from guys at the Guardian (the school newspaper) and the radio station.

I'd like to see hockey as a varisty sport too but right now the Raiders play in a club association, ACHA I think, that has a lot of big schools in it: Illinois, Colorado (who won the ACHA title this year), Purdue and a bunch of others field club teams and I think WSU played all of them accept for Colordao.

Hara would be a good fit for the Bombers... I remember as a kid they drew really well up there but I'm not sure about now since the area there is pretty dead (the Jets have had some pretty awful attendance numbers as of late). Does anybody know about the Convention Center however downtown? I remember the Dynamo, the old indoor soccer team, played at the Convention Center the last couple years before moving to Cincy... I never thought that was a sports friendly facility but it does have a lot going for it: its downtown in a decent location near the Oregon district and a bunch of bars, its reasonably accessible, and the area is mostly safe save the Greyhound station around 2-3 am. The only conflict I could see is the size of the place and the Dragons being close by in the spring. Just an idea.

[nksports]

The ACHA is the group that runs all of collegiate club hockey. Last I checked, they had three divisions for men and one or two for women. (It's not really based on size. More on the team's competitiveness. There are smaller leagues within the ACHA.
It's good hockey, but it's still club hockey. NCAA Division I hockey is very good hockey, and if done right, can turn a profit for the school. OSU drew around 10,000 a game. Miami also draws pretty well. (When I attended OSU 1980-85, the club team was kind of a defacto JV team for the varsity. Every once in a while, a club team player would make the varsity team, but he was usually a third-line or bench player).
For Wright State, it would be something to set it apart. Dayton's always had the tradition in basketball and Wright State's always kind of been in UD's shadow. I now live in Kansas, where we have Kansas, Kansas State and Wichita State. KU makes it's mark in basketball while K-State has turned into a football power. Wichita State has never had the resources to compete in either of those sports for quite a while (they dropped football in about 1986), so they put a lot of their eggs in the baseball basket and have done well.
That's why I think Wright State would be a nice fit for hockey.
Keeping this diatribe on message for minor league hockey, after all the teams in Cincy are in a state of suspended operations (despite the Ducks drawing decent numbers), the Bombers might want to split its season next year between Dayton and Cincy for next year. (Too bad there's no arena in Hamilton or Middletown. Oxford is too hard to get to from either city, unless one is really motivated and they wouldn't have weekend dates there because of Miami U.)
As for the Convention Center, I didn't even think it could hold a regulation ice rink. From what I remember, (and I only saw them a couple of times when they played here in Wichita), the Dynamo's home field at the convention center was not regulation (That didn't matter that much to the AISL, NPSL, now new MISL).
From what I remember (and this was from some time ago, like the early 1970s), the city fathers built the convention center after deciding not to build a downtown arena for the Dayton Aeros of the WHA. The Aeros in turn decided (just days before the start of the season), to move to Houston because they didn't want to share Hara with the Gems.

[Pounder]

Keeping this diatribe on message for minor league hockey, after all the teams in Cincy are in a state of suspended operations (despite the Ducks drawing decent numbers), the Bombers might want to split its season next year between Dayton and Cincy for next year. (Too bad there's no arena in Hamilton or Middletown. Oxford is too hard to get to from either city, unless one is really motivated and they wouldn't have weekend dates there because of Miami U.)

I know it's awfully tempting for Dayton to after the Cincinnati market next year... but the best you can do is get someone to sponsor a couple busses from Cincy to your arena. Inconveniencing the Dayton fans by splitting home games only wrecks the core fan base while the Cincinnati fans need only wait for the Ducks to come back in whatever form they WILL come back in. Teams die that way.

[Geoff]

I don't think Hobart would be big enough for the CHL or the ECHL. It might work for the UHL. Miami County would be an interesting market for pro sports.

Nutter's a little too big for the Bombers. When you're only filled to about 1/3 capacity, even a good crowd for minor league hockey looks bad.

Hara might be a better fit for the Bombers. I know they played a game or two there sometime ago due to conflicts at Nutter. I used to see many a Gems game there. It's old-fashioned and not the easiest place to find in town but every seat is a good seat.

Frankly, IMHO the best hockey tenant for Nutter would be the Wright State University men's and women's varsity hockey programs (OK, they don't exist yet, but a guy could dream). A WSU team in the CCHA would find natural rivals with Ohio State, Miami and Bowling Green. The women's team could join the WCHL with OSU.

Why would it work with the U but the the C? The UHL has a higher level of play than the CHL so I would think I would be opposite: work for the CHL but not the UHL.

[nksports]

The reason Troy would be a better fit for the UHL is the same reason why Indianapolis failed and Youngstown won't last long in the CHL. It isn't the level of play (about equal). It's geography. Most of the UHL markets are easily reached from Troy. An Ohio team that has to travel to Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas, Colorado and points south and west is probably a little too much. Youngstown's nearest opponent is going to be Memphis. It's also hard to get local fans excited about seeing the Austin Ice Bats or the Colorado Eagles (although they were pretty good this season).
I'm just entrigued by Troy as a pro city. It's a growing area and Miami Co. as a whole is on the very fringes of a population base that could sustain an effort. Besides, you also have history with the Troy Bruins, an IHL team from the 1950s.

[Lucher]

Here's what I think. First as far as the Hobart deal. As long as the attendance is with in the norms of league play then it doesn't matter where they play as long as it's not costing too much. As far as the UHL is concerned. I would love to have a team there. It means I have another place to see my Komets,; however, it would the Bombers would have to jump leagues because I don't think another team could compete. Which brings me to splitting time with Cicny. I was about to say that there would be trouble since the Cyclones are there, but it does not appear that there is a team in Cicny any more. It looks like Cicny is still listed as a market but no team. So I guess splitting time would be a bad idea but it could end up like the Expos in baseball.

[nksports]

I just had an epiphany. Let's bring back the I (so some teams would have to change names and change leagues).

Northern Division
Fort Wayne Komets
Des Moines Oak Leafs
Indianapolis Chiefs
Toledo Mercurys
Muncie Flyers

Southern Division
Dayton Gems
Troy Bruins
Cincinnati Mohawks
Louisville Shooting Stars
Columbus Owls (They can become the Marion Barons if and when the NHL ever resumes play)