Three more ECHL teams drop out

by James Mirtle on Mar 31, 2009 2:12 PM CDT Comment 23 comments

Two teams, the Fresno Falcons and Augusta Lynx, folded midseason in the ECHL this year. Three more are about to join them.

A 23-team league to start the 2008-09 season, the ECHL will drop to just 19 teams after the Phoenix RoadRunners, Dayton Bombers and Mississippi Sea Wolves announced they will not play next season. The league gains one team in the Toledo Walleye.

This was a 29-team league in 2004-05.

Attendance in these markets wasn't terrible either. ECHL teams average about 4,000 fans per game, and Fresno, Dayton, Phoenix and Mississippi were between 3,000 and 3,700.

As the name of a hockey franchise, the RoadRunners have been around for ages, first playing in Phoenix in the 1967 as part of the old WHL. They've since been reborn in five or six other leagues, and were even part of the WHA from 1974-77. The team's current incarnation was formerly owned by Claude Lemieux (who at one point was the team president).

The Bombers, meanwhile, have been in the ECHL for 18 years.

I've yet to see an explicit reason stated for the demise of so many teams in a short period, but travel costs are likely a major factor. Salaries are very, very low in the ECHL, with player costs capped at $11,550 a week (about $280,000 for a full season), but the tickets are cheap and the profit margins slim. Geography also works against the league.

Here's the ECHL's alignment for next season:

American Conference - North Division
Cincinnati, Elmira, Johnstown, Toledo and Wheeling

American Conference - South Division
Charlotte, Florida, Gwinnett, Reading, South Carolina and Trenton

National Conference - West Division
Alaska, Idaho, Utah and Victoria

National Conference - Pacific Division
Bakersfield, Las Vegas, Ontario and Stockton

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Comments

Did Dayton ever have to play Victoria? That might explain a lot of the issues.

What are the benefits of having a huge umbrella league like the ECHL, rather than a series of regionally competitive leagues that are part of a national association, like the Canadian Hockey League?

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Mar 31, 2009 2:46 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

My understanding is that the schedule is heavily regionalized, with no out of conference matchups until the finals. Someone else can confirm that I’m sure.

by James Mirtle on Mar 31, 2009 3:01 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Mississippi likely finally succumbed to the fallout from Katrina. You have to remember that they had to essentially rebuild the ice surface and most of the equipment from scratch after the storm. It took them two seasons to get back to playing. My understanding is that the population hasn’t returned to the Gulf Coast either. Add in the hit from anybody who used to come over from New Orleans for their hockey fix and you have dwindling returns. I imagine season tickets to an ECHL team are low priority for many people in that area. The regional teams that used to play the Wolves have met a variety of demises in the team’s history so that every year, their travel expenses go up. Here’s a summary from the Sun Herald.

2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity

by Mike @ MHH on Mar 31, 2009 3:45 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Hmmmm you’re right. I had them a bit mixed up with the CHL’s Mississippi RiverKings, who are actually located just outside Memphis now. I was going to catch one of their games when I was down in Tennessee, but the schedule didn’t matchup.

I wonder if the Biloxi team will simply drop into the CHL?

by James Mirtle on Mar 31, 2009 3:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

I don’t see how that would help with the travel concerns too much. One team in North Mississippi, one in North Louisiana, and a handful in east-ish Texas is about the same travel to the former ECHL teams in Florida, Georgia and the Carolinas.

2008-2009 Colorado Avalanche: Dry Humping Mediocrity

by Mike @ MHH on Apr 2, 2009 9:23 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

As a resident of New Orleans, I have to agree with you Mike. Biloxi, like New Orleans, has bigger things on it’s mind right now. Unfortunately as a hockey fan who moved to the Gulf South, there isn’t anything to keep my fix.

by DanNOLA on Mar 31, 2009 11:18 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Even without the current economic climate, minor league hockey always delivered a pretty good product at a great price (compared to the NHL). Hopefully, teams will be increased in the near future so people don’t have an “all or nothing” option when it comes to hockey price points.

The population of Pominville keeps rising!

by Blackcapricorn on Mar 31, 2009 3:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Is that $280,000 for the whole team?

Do the players have other jobs during the season? Is it mostly a way to keep playing hockey at a fairly competitive level? I could see ECHL goalies eventually moving up, but I wouldn’t think there’s much hope for the skaters.

by YYZ on Mar 31, 2009 4:43 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Yes, that’s the cap for the team. I believe some players are on AHL deals and would receive some pay that way.

by James Mirtle on Mar 31, 2009 6:53 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Actually, the Roadroaders that just shuttered their doors aren’t the same franchise that started back in 1967. They just shared the same name. The ECHL version started up in 2005 after no minor league hockey in Phoenix for four years.

by Forsch31 on Mar 31, 2009 5:17 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

“As the name of a hockey franchise, the RoadRunners have been around for ages…”

The name has been around for ages, in other words. Not the particular franchise.

by James Mirtle on Mar 31, 2009 6:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Personally, I would love to see Victoria drop out of the ECHL as well… by moving up to the AHL. For the Flames’ Abbotsford experiment to have any realistic chance at succeeding (or even passing at the BOG level), a second team, at least, would have to be added. If the Abbotsford bid can convince another team to go to Victoria for either 09-10 or 10-11, it would be a major boon to Abbotsford’s chances.

by Resolute on Mar 31, 2009 5:55 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

The AHL should have more Canadian teams anyway. It’s a high enough level of hockey that it could do well in a lot of cities.

by James Mirtle on Mar 31, 2009 6:55 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Yeah, but it hasn’t succeeded long term in a lot of Canadian cities as well (Maritime franchises, Edmonton Roadrunners, Quebec Citadelles, Toronto teams). And no one wants to compete with a major junior franchise. Hence, Hamilton and Winnipeg have teams. Maybe Abbotsford. The AHL also tends to be driven away from American markets with major junior franchises.

Hockey blogging can't get any flatter.

by saskhab on Mar 31, 2009 9:59 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Victoria in the ECHL

I’ve never met anybody who’s been at a game, and I’ve lived here 7 years.

by garth the hoser on Mar 31, 2009 7:33 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

well, I've been to one... how many have they played?

I went to one of the playoff games last year. It was kind of fun, competitive game and Victoria won that night as I recall. But I don’t like the new loud atmosphere that seems to pervade modern hockey. That’s just me though. I like hockey on TV better so I don’t have to listen to all the noise. Too bad they don’t have the old organists providing a little “old-time” atmosphere … at least some of the time.

by dcsj on Mar 31, 2009 9:58 PM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sounds like what they do at the Marlies game to build the “atmosphere” …

by James Mirtle on Apr 1, 2009 12:20 AM CDT up reply actions 0 recs

Minor league hockey

The Ontario Reign are lucky in that they are in an area with little competition within a reasonable driving distance, plus it helps that they are doing well. I know PHX home game attendance figures run around 2,500 or so, which suprised me considering that it is a very entertaining product for a reasonable amount of money. You’d think that the NHL teams these clubs are affiliated with would try to float some of them instead of letting them fail. I wonder why they don’t…. Surely the Sharks have money.

by puck it dano on Mar 31, 2009 8:47 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

I work for the Utah Grizzlies of the ECHL

and we played Reading twice at home in January.

Those were our only regular-season games against the Eastern Conference.

At least these teams are sticking around until the end of the season. Losing Fresno mid-season was a pain in the butt.

by BoylenOver on Apr 1, 2009 1:46 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Bleeding may not be over yet.

Johnstown Chiefs…one of the longest running teams in the league is on thin ice due to arena operating issues.

http://www.tribdem.com/local/local_story_089234950.html

by Thunder on Apr 1, 2009 7:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

What a shame to see Dayton leave, they were one of the “old guard” of the ECHL, from when it was basically a Rust Belt league. Johnstown is also in that category and it would be tragic to see them fold with all of their Slapshot connections.

saskhab – The biggest benefit to an umbrella league is the lack of inter-league competition for prospects. A decade ago the ECHL was competing with several other leagues for players, which led to all sorts of tampering, contract disputes, etc. The present-day E is able to operate like a true AA league because they survived the competition with NHL affiliations intact.

by bostonblueline.blogspot.com on Apr 1, 2009 8:28 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Thus far only the Phoenix franchise has confirmed that they will fold permanently following the conclusion of their final game. Mississippi and Dayton, while announcing the suspension of operations for the 09-10 season, have not told the ECHL that this is a permanent choice. They have until June to inform the League of their plans. While they will both likely disappear altogether, there is hope in the new Toledo franchise and there will be two “dormant” franchises who were this week granted an additional year to get their new playing venues set up. Those franchises are Myrtle Beach and Columbia in South Carolina.

There are several teams still struggling. Yes, Johnstown, along with Wheeling and probably a few others, are walking a fine line. After speaking with a couple of owners, I was told that travel is a huge consideration, and thus the current setup of having no out of conference games until the playoffs. The Utah Grizzlies getting two games with Reading I believe in part was to cover the loss of games vs Fresno for the Grizzlies, and to cover loss of games in the American conference with the demise of the Pensacola Ice Pilots before the season and the Augusta Lynx just before Christmas.

I find it interesting that two of the American North division teams got realigned into the south division. With all of the Board of Governors having a pow-wow about this stuff last week, I’m sure that they probably figured out that Reading and Trenton were two teams with better ability to travel. The Trenton team is literally financed by the NJ Devils. The Ontario Reign is financed by the group that owns the Kings. I don’t know what finances Reading, although they are affiliated with the Marlies and the Leafs this season.

One thing for sure, it’s going to be interesting!

by Boarding Major on Apr 1, 2009 4:09 PM CDT reply actions 0 recs

Worried that the Cyclones will be lost too.

I’m scared that Cincinnati will eventually be on that chopping block too. We lost all hockey here in Cincy for several years and then thankfully they brought the Cyclones back. But as a realist, I look at the empty seats in the arena and I know that if things don’t improve, no matter how many Kelly Cups they may win, it doesn’t ensure their future. Seeing Dayton get the axe shows me that it’s all too possible here as well.

by Jennemy on Apr 2, 2009 9:42 AM CDT reply actions 0 recs