AHL to Oklahoma City; Tulsa, Wichita to follow...

[kmf563]

Well here's my question about the whole deal. The Blazers have been well supported here, but they were starting to lose money because of dropping attendence. It wasn't dropping because the team was bad or because people didn't like the Blazers anymore. It was dropping because the Thunder stole some folks and the economy turned sour. We still have an excellent attendence record as far as the CHL goes, but that's not saying much. Look at the arenas that most of the cities we played had. We're looking at less than 10K seats in most of them...think old Tulsa arena.

Now here's the problem i see happening. With moving up a level, they're going to want to charge more for tickets because they'll have to recoop the higher cost of the player salaries. Dont' think for a second that they will cost the same as the Blazers' players...and those players won't be back. Out of their own mouth, they said they weren't good enough for that league....which is why they played in the CHL to begin with.

So with higher prices, and still being in not great economic times, do we expect a brand new team to be received well? It's the same owners as the Blazers, so they could still be called the Blazers, but with all new players. So it's like watching an entirely new cast of a show......It's the same Daren on Bewitched, right?

So do we really think that people are going to want to pay more just because it's one level up? It's still minor league...not NHL. There's a HUUUUUGE difference in supporting the pros compared to the minors.

The cavies are actually a good comparison. Minor league team....did extremely well as far as record, but attendence blew. We move to NBA and it's great. We had our try at the ABL or whatever for a while, and they had bad attendence too.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that in a few years, we'll be without hockey again...and then wishing we never screwed up the good thing we had going.

I agree. I think people have an attachment to and love for the blazers. I don't see the difference in having the blazers and a chl team...except there will be less fights. Which I promise isn't a good thing for our hockey watchers. Nothing like a good layer of red ice on christmas night! The rivalry will be with whom? We like the rivalry with Tulsa - it was about the only solid one we have where we got to pound the crap out of them. So I don't know what the expectation will be for a new chl team. But I don't think it will do very well. I think the blazers were great and we should have kept them. The attendance would have gone back up. The tickets were cheap and the games were fun. In this economy it was a great trip for schools and churches to be able to fund.

For godsakes please don't touch the redhawks. We have had enough movement and hands in that pot. The field is great, the ticket prices are awesome, the promotions work....just leave them alone.

[warreng88]

Bob Funk Jr.: 'Oklahoma City hockey fans deserve to have a team at the next level'

By Robert Przybyzlo, Staff Writer
Published: July 8, 2009

The Oklahoma City Blazers of the Central Hockey League set several league attendance records. The team led the league in average attendance the last 17 years.

Despite the arrival of the NBA’s Thunder in Oklahoma City, the Blazers still led the next-closest CHL team by more than 1,000 fans in average attendance last season.

So when Express Sports, which owns the Blazers, announced last week that it was suspending operations for an indefinite period of time, Blazer fans wondered how it was possible.

And how, at the same time, could there be potential negotiations to bring an American Hockey League team to Oklahoma City?

It’s all about the business model, said AHL Hockey Club, LLC manager and Express Sports president Bob Funk Jr.

"We simply gave away too many free tickets through the years,” Funk said.

"It’s great to be No. 1 in attendance, but to do it at the expense of the ticket value is not good. It’s hard to recover from something like that.”

That ultimately led to the decision to close the door on the Blazers. Funk said his family has lost more than $6 million since Express Sports purchased the Blazers in 2000.

Funk said the company did what it could to survive when it made management changes last November, but it wasn’t enough. Five members of the Blazers’ front office, including former chief executive officer Brad Lund, left the company.

But Funk is optimistic about the chances of bringing an AHL team to Oklahoma City. One hurdle was cleared Tuesday when the city council unanimously approved a letter of intent with AHL Hockey Club, LLC, to begin negotiations for a prospective team and approving the terms of a five-year lease at the Cox Convention Center to begin with the 2010-11 AHL season.

"Oklahoma City hockey fans deserve to have a team at the next level,” Funk said. "We have such passionate and dedicated fans. Without them, this wouldn’t be possible.”

While the Blazers paid between $8,000 to $12,000 per game to rent the Ford Center last season, the new lease has the company paying $7,500 per game to rent the Cox Center.

"We looked at both (Ford Center and Cox) and had to do what is best for everybody,” Funk said. "Moving across the street will give us a better opportunity to do what we want to do.”

Funk said he is not sure what the fate of the Blazers will be. He hasn’t spoken to the CHL about selling the team and hasn’t been able to gauge how much interest there is from other cities about relocating the team. He said he is hoping to be able to arrange something.

http://newsok.com/bob-funk-jr.-oklah...adlines_widget

That helps explain how the Blazers could be top in attendance and still lose money.

[kmf563]

I agree. I think people have an attachment to and love for the blazers. I don't see the difference in having the blazers and a chl team...except there will be less fights. Which I promise isn't a good thing for our hockey watchers. Nothing like a good layer of red ice on christmas night! The rivalry will be with whom? We like the rivalry with Tulsa - it was about the only solid one we have where we got to pound the crap out of them. So I don't know what the expectation will be for a new chl team. But I don't think it will do very well. I think the blazers were great and we should have kept them. The attendance would have gone back up. The tickets were cheap and the games were fun. In this economy it was a great trip for schools and churches to be able to fund.

For godsakes please don't touch the redhawks. We have had enough movement and hands in that pot. The field is great, the ticket prices are awesome, the promotions work....just leave them alone.

I meant AHL....duh.

[Laramie]

Higher prices?

I heard that the current Blazer prices were comparable to the AHL's. I'm sure they will raise prices (How much higher? TBD); however, I'm sure they don't want to price themselves out of their own market.

A one-year hiatus will do this city some good. It may just starve the fans enough that we all become hungry for hockey.

Look for Tulsa to take over an existing franchise with a move to the BOK Center and it will be OKC vs Tulsa all over again.

[Blairman]

Higher prices?

Look for Tulsa to take over an existing franchise with a move to the BOK Center and it will be OKC vs Tulsa all over again.

Here you go again....Tulsa will NEVER have a AHL team, neither will Wichita.....

[Laramie]

Blairman:

Wow!

[rwookc]

I think it's great that a better grade of hockey will come to okc , has their been new about what team will move here ?

[rwookc]

Do we know a name of the AHL team that will come to okc

[bombermwc]

Well I won't say they won't ever get one...Tulsa would before Wichita. An arena, a population base does not make. Just beacuse Wichita will have a 15K arena, doesn't mean they have the base to support a team. Tulsa is pretty close to OKC in population, so it's not really a stretch. Plus since they don't have NBA in Tulsa, moving baseball or hockey up a level makes sense. They're AA in both right now...and when was the last time anyone gave a crap about Tulsa Baseball....including their residents?

But both CHL teams can be running into the financial sanfoo Express did. New arena means higher prices to rent it out...which means less $ in their pockets. Unless they can stay in their old arenas like OKC will be doing (and still have enough seats to make it turn a dime....which neither do), then the state of team itself would be in jeopardy.

Tulsa probably can weather it...but now that the rivalry is gone...maybe support won't be a strong. When your rival vanishes, it sort of makes you not work as hard and then the team gets worse...and the fair weather fans go away.

For now, I don't see any changes. Tulsa/Wichita....CHL for maybe 10 years of their new arena being open. Then we'll see.

[Laramie]

Good take on Tulsa's situation; however, I feel the American Hockey League's presence in Wichita will completely turn that city around.

They drew 8,000-10,000 when the old Major Indoor Soccer League was in Wichita with the old Wichita Wings. An AHL franchise in Wichita and a new arena could win this city over. Remember I said that.

Blairman, a comment please? Seriously, and tell me why it won't work in Wichita.

[rwookc]

Well it looks like the team that will be coming to okc will be the Springfield Falcons ? Oklahoma City Falcons ......I like the name, never liked the blazers name.

[theparkman81]

I don't see Tulsa having a AAA hockey team for about another 5 to 10 years, because the last time I checked they don't have good attendence at their hockey games.

actually I want to take back what I said about Tulsa not getting a AHL team for about another 5 to 10 years, I thank Tulsa should try to get a AHL team in 2011 or 2012, It will be great to see Tulsa and OKC battling each other in the AHL. I hope that I didn't upset anybody from Tulsa, If I did I really sorry.

[bretthexum]

So do we really think that people are going to want to pay more just because it's one level up? It's still minor league...not NHL. There's a HUUUUUGE difference in supporting the pros compared to the minors.

The cavies are actually a good comparison. Minor league team....did extremely well as far as record, but attendence blew. We move to NBA and it's great. We had our try at the ABL or whatever for a while, and they had bad attendence too.

Unfortunately, I have a feeling that in a few years, we'll be without hockey again...and then wishing we never screwed up the good thing we had going.

I think the AHL is way more than one level up from the CHL. Cripes, I think college hockey has more skill than the CHL.
I for one will be getting season tickets.

As for ticket prices I think the Blazers were way over priced for the skill level. I've been to many AHL games in Chicago and Milwaukee and they are about 20-25 bucks tops. Hopefully the guys at express don't price themselves out of fans.

[bluedogok]

The CHL got BAD when they added the league that went defunct with small town Texas teams. There was a reason why that league went defunct and it wasn't due to operating/travel expenses like the IHL. The better talent needing experience was staying away from the league because there was no hope of moving up. The last Blazers game that I went to (2003 season) before moving here it was very apparent. Then you had teams like Austin who were lucky to get a 1,000 when they were at the Expo Center and then moved the games to their practice facility and started playing there in front of 300-500 a game.

[bombermwc]

Wow, i didn't realize it had gotten that bad in Austin. That's some serious crap....and now I have completely turned my opinion. Go AHL!

[bluedogok]

I also think the Austin Ice Bats owners saw the writing in the wall and bailed out on the CHL a couple of seasons ago after the announcement by Tom Hicks of the building of the Cedar Park Center (6,800 seats for hockey and 8,700 seats for concerts) and a Stars AHL affiliate. The Cedar Park Center is opening soon and the Texas Stars are slated to start this coming season.

[Laramie]

I'm not that familiar with the situation in Austin; however, you would think that they would have built something bigger than 6,800 seats for an AHL franchise?

Tulsa Civic Assembly Center accommodated 6,909 and I thought that was a Cracker-Jack Box at the time we built the 9,790-seat State Fair Arena. The State Fair Arena doesn't look out of alignment. I only wish they could move it (State Fair Arena) to the Stockyards Area to replace the old ancient Stockyards Colisem (5,850) which burned before the turn of the century.

Houston, San Antonio and Texas (Austin) not bad for an early start on AHL rivals.

[bluedogok]

6,800 is probably a good number of seats for hockey in Austin, enough to get a decent crowd but small enough to not feel too empty. Austin's just not really a sports market for anything other than Whorn stuff and the majority of the 90,000+ here for a home football game are coming in from out of town. Part of the issue to me is the half the minor league teams are out in the far north burbs with the Round Rock Express baseball being the other (we sometimes go up to see the Redhawks play) and I live far south, since I work north now it isn't as big of an issue as when I worked south but trying to get to Round Rock for a baseball game up I-35 in evening rush hour traffic is a horrible and will be much the same thing with Cedar Park. The NBA-DL team (Austin Toros) play downtown in the convention center but there is a possibility that they could move to Cedar Park as well. The only one likely to stay in Austin is the U23 soccer team Austin Aztex, they are playing in an AISD high school stadium now.

I thought after the start of the Ford Center that it would be nice if there was some way to remodel the Myriad by capping off the top ring into exhibit/flex space and keep the lower bowl as a smaller arena. I don't know if that is structurally feasible let alone a cost effective thing to do, just seems like having a less than 10K facility across from the 19K facility would make some sense.

[Laramie]

Those of you who want the CHL should push for a team to be called the

Central Oklahoma "Something."

Ice making equipment could be added to the Lazy-E arena which could easily accommodate 7,200 for CHL franchise. Edmond, Guthrie and Oklahoma City could support a CHL franchise as well as an AHL franchise.

I attended hockey games because of the finesse of the sport; if fights broke out, so be it.

Maybe we can shed that minor league image of being a Blazertown (someone give me a definition) rather than a good minor league hockey hotbed.

[Laramie]

I thought after the start of the Ford Center that it would be nice if there was some way to remodel the Myriad by capping off the top ring into exhibit/flex space and keep the lower bowl as a smaller arena. I don't know if that is structurally feasible let alone a cost effective thing to do, just seems like having a less than 10K facility across from the 19K facility would make some sense.

The lower bowl of the Myriad's Great Arena seats about 6,500 and that was looked upon; however, it would have taken us out the mix for the Big XXII basketball tournament rotation making the Great Arena inside the Cox Convention Center smaller. Approximately 10,000 seats are needed to stage the Women's college conference tournament. Kansas City uses the old 10,000-seat Minicipal Auditorium for the women's and men's tournament is in the new Sprint Center. I understand that they are to demolish Kemper Arena.

Core-to-Shore is proposing a new convention center at the site of the old abandoned Main Post Office at S.W 3rd for addition exhibition space in expanding Oklahoma City's convention potential from a 3-tier to a 2-tier convention city which would put us in competition with cities like Nashville, Kansas City and Indianapolis. We will still need in excess of 6,000 hotel rooms downtown.

The way the economy is looking OKC is in the right proximity (central location) and people are burned out on Dallas.

[bombermwc]

Demolish Kemper and keep Municipal? Wow, that seems backwards. Municpial still has bleachers!!!!!!!!

[Laramie]

Wichita is moving right along with the Intrust Bank Arena. Don't think that it is a far-fetched idea to see Tulsa and Wichita join the American Hockey League through relocation it the near future. Wichita finished second behind Oklahoma City in CHL attendance.

Wichita's Intrust Bank Arena:

15,000 seats for Basketball

Arena Construction progress 2009:

Construction of the Intrust Bank Arena, Sedgwick County, Kansas - Welcome



Intrust Bank Arena, Sedgwick County, Kansas - Welcome

[Richard at Remax]

why are you getting so excited about tulsa and wichita?

[Shake2005]

Because for the AHL to be viable and successful in Oklahoma City, rivalries need to be formed to help with attendance and travel costs need to be lowered. More nearby teams help both those needs.

[Laramie]

why are you getting so excited about tulsa and wichita?

Well, with a much better quality of hockey--Central Hockey League (Goon league hockey), I wouldn't call AA and this is the last minor professional sport in which we play Tulsa or Wichita--former members of the American Association AAA baseball, it would be nice to have some rivals close by without making a trip across the Red River (AHL's Houston, San Antonio & now, Austin).

I'm an old school fan dating back when we built the State Fair Arena and there were rival cities in our proximity (Dallas, Fort Worth, Kansas City, Omaha, Tulsa) with competitiveness and a good brand of ice hockey for the dollar.

Sorry, I didn't mean to get carried away!:

backtotop

It's going to be nice to welcome some familiar faces, let's hope Tulsa and Wichita come on board!