With no OKC Barons next year, Oilers will likely move AHL team to Bakersfield | (http://www.edmontonsun.com/2014/12/18/with-no-okc-barons-next-year-oilers-will-likely-move-ahl-team-to-bakersfield)

I like some other quotes out of this article;

Bakersfield is averaging a healthy 4,772. OKC is claiming 3,219 Even HE doesn't believe the attendance numbers!


But OKC put together one of the most incredible promotions in the history of minor league sport — giving a brand new car away every Saturday night home game for two seasons. And it didn’t move the dial. The Barons were either at the bottom or near the bottom of the AHL in attendance every season.


“It came down to some negotiations that they tried with the city, the landlord at the arena and they just couldn’t get what they wanted. That’s what caused them to say ‘OK, we can’t go any further.’ ”
Yeah, it was the city's fault. It wasn't the fact that attendance was terrible, no matter how many cars they gave away. I had nothing to do with that fact that all of their REAL effort has been poured into The Energy for the past year or more. No, it was the negotiations with the city. Wait a minute, isn't that the same thing Bob Funk Jr said when he shut down the Blazers? But it wasn't true then, either. This guy is the biggest weasel, and I am truly sorry he every came in contact with The Blazers, or The Barons, for that matter. He is a cancer that eventually kills everything he comes in contact with. And my prediction is that he will kill The Energy as well, in time.

So you guys who complain and moan about the Barons, what brings you back to hockey? Is it just another owner besides Funk?

The Energy won't die, they are already more well supported than the Barons and he has more owners than just himself.

Wasn't the new Dallas Cowboys Stadium in Arlington built with private funds?

No, it was not.

AT&T Stadium - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/AT%26T_Stadium)

Originally estimated to cost $650 million, the stadium's current construction cost was $1.15 billion, making it one of the most expensive sports venues ever built. To aid Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones in paying the construction costs of the new stadium, Arlington voters approved the increase of the city's sales tax by 0.5 percent, the hotel occupancy tax by 2 percent, and car rental tax by 5 percent. The City of Arlington provided over $325 million (including interest) in bonds as funding, and Jones covered any cost overruns. Also, the NFL provided the Cowboys with an additional $150 million loan, following its policy for facilitating financing for the construction of new stadiums.

Barons complete a 3 game road sweep at Adirondack, Rochester and Hamilton, including back to back shutouts last night and tonight. GET OUT AND SUPPORT THIS TEAM!!

A close friend of mine Sent me this text tonight after talking to some people in the know with the barons so take it for what it's worth

Here's the latest on the rumor about the team: the players were told to sit tight and not sell their houses. Bakersfield arena is not ready or up to ahl standards and essentially the barons have no where to go. Funk wanted a 3 yr lease, Edmonton a 5 yr and the city. A 10 yr. Edmonton is working with the city now to extend for at least another year and will run the team. Funk owns the barons name so may have to be rebranded. Edmonton would like to get a lease that allows barons to stay up to 2 yrs with the option of an echl team moving in after barons leave( current Bakersfield team)


So best case scenario is Edmonton takes over the team, rebrands it, and is here for two more years, with promise of current Bakersfield team moving here if/when team moves. Also it was interesting to hear that barons have one of the highest # of season ticket holders. Loyalty was always there but there was obvious poor marketing to try to get your average fans consistently to the games

Saw it reported yesterday that AHL approved Bakersfield ( as well as 4 other California teams ) to join and Edmonton's development team will be moving next season. No mention of what will become of the current Bakersfield players but not likely to be moving to Oklahoma I would imagine.

That's too bad. I knew it was a long shot

Edmonton's new ECHL team is in Norfolk. Adirondack and Manchester also get ECHL teams.