East Coast Hockey League (ECHL)

[Dob Hooligan]

If you want hockey in OKC then get behind the new Fairgrounds Arena. City Leaders won’t let hockey play at Chesapeake Arena or Cox Center, but, they will back Fairgrounds Arena 100%. This is a total guess, but I’m sure I’m right.

[Laramie]

If you want hockey in OKC then get behind the new Fairgrounds Arena. City Leaders won’t let hockey play at Chesapeake Arena or Cox Center, but, they will back Fairgrounds Arena 100%. This is a total guess, but I’m sure I’m right.

Agree 100% about the new State Fair Arena.

Lots of unanswered questions: Didn't know the Thunder kept hockey out of the Cox Center???

That's why IMO an Oklahoma City ECHL franchise could survive in a new 5,500 seat arena at the State Fair Park. Hope they decide to increase the maximum seating in the 8,000 to10,000 range.

Maybe they could make special consideration for an ECHL Oklahoma City vs Tulsa & Wichita rivalries and allow games at the Cox Center which has a seating capacity of 13,846.

Where will the Oklahoma City Blue play once the Cox Convention Center is demolished? Probably, the new State Fair Arena or Abe Lemons Arena on the campus of OCU.

[Dob Hooligan]

I’m not claiming the Thunder wants hockey out of Cox.....but city leaders don’t want to be tied to an old and inefficient icing system that might break down in a very expensive manner at any time. Or that’s their story and they’re sticking to it.
I’m guessing they will be excited to host hockey and the Blue at Fairgrounds Arena while they are selling MAPS.

[jedicurt]

I’m not claiming the Thunder wants hockey out of Cox.....

well i think it is more that the Thunder don't want to share and arena with hockey... and there are no long term plans for Cox... it probably will be destroyed in the next 5 years... so who would want to bring a team here if there is no mid term plan for a place to play.

[borchard]

I would love to see the Blazers come back. The Fairgrounds would be fine with me, but I do hope the new arena they are talking about has more than 5,500 seats

[Roger S]

Technically they are still here... just not at the ECHL level.

http://www.okcityhockey.com/

[Jersey Boss]

Technically they are still here... just not at the ECHL level.

http://www.okcityhockey.com/

Not a professional level either. How does the play compare to college club level ?

[Roger S]

Not a professional level either. How does the play compare to college club level ?

Slightly better and they have had a few players get called up to higher levels.

[Jersey Boss]

I wonder as to what the arena requirements are for ECHL membership?

[jedicurt]

I wonder as to what the arena requirements are for ECHL membership?

smallest is Glens Falls Civic Center in New York, it's capacity is only 4,794, CAA Centre and Brampton, Ontario is 5,000, Zalamazoo is 5,131, Wheeling, West Virgina is 5,406. a bunch in the 7k-9k range, and then slightly less in the 10k-14k range, then Amyway Center in orlando is 17,353 and BOK is 17,096 (but both of those don't sell in upperdeck usually..

so there is a vast array of sizes... not any real requirements.

[Laramie]

SMG, OKC Chamber of Commerce, State Fair Board Trust & the OKC Convention & Visitors Bureau, does these groups work together or do they have separate functions where one respects the other's territory; also are there any over ruling (1)...

Example: Say for instance ice hockey planned to return to Oklahoma City in the form of an East Coast Hockey League franchise where neighboring Tulsa & Wichita have teams; (2) Thunder objected to an ice plant being used in The Peake--how would this get resolved; (3) you think the City would invest in any upgrades (seats, restrooms) to Cox Convention Center to make it more hockey friendly if the team played there...

[Dob Hooligan]

I think the sports landscape in OKC is different than it was 20 years ago. The Thunder is a billion dollar enterprise that elevates the image of OKC on the international stage on a daily basis. I think It is well within reason that they do not want to play on top of an insulated frozen floor that is used by a AA hockey team that draws 3,000 people at $20 each, plus $15 each non-ticket spend, for a gross revenue of $105,000 per game.

I think the city leadership is willing to support a hockey team that has a degree of benefit to the citizens without burdening our facilities in a way that harms other tenants. I think the real world answer is that hockey ain't gonna happen at the ‘Peake; probably won’t at the Myriad because of ice making (and other) issues; and the best bet is the new State Fair Arena.

[Pete]

^

And the Peake is starting to book more concerts.

I agree, I think OKC has changed and the sport of hockey as a whole is losing popularity.

[BoulderSooner]

^

And the Peake is starting to book more concerts.

I agree, I think OKC has changed and the sport of hockey as a whole is losing popularity.

the barons didn't work because they actually wanted to charge for tickets ...

the blazers for years and years and years gave away thousands of tickets to every game for free ..

[jedicurt]

the barons didn't work because they actually wanted to charge for tickets ...

the blazers for years and years and years gave away thousands of tickets to every game for free ..

well.. .and awful management. but yes. that was a big key factor aswell

[Pete]

^

Back in the '60s and '70s, the Blazers were very popular but that was a very different time (at the fairgrounds) and tickets were cheap.

The biggest crowds were at $.10 beer night.

[Miracle121]

Echl would by far draw more fans than the usl energy. The problem with the Barons was the management. Echl would draw over 5000 fans per game.

[BoulderSooner]

Echl would by far draw more fans than the usl energy. The problem with the Barons was the management. Echl would draw over 5000 fans per game.

based on what?? ( maybe if they gave aways thousands of tickets a game like the blazers)

[jedicurt]

Echl would by far draw more fans than the usl energy. The problem with the Barons was the management. Echl would draw over 5000 fans per game.

the game of hockey has changed from the 90's CHL days... the ECHL is a development league, not a league with just a bunch of fights for a bunch of fans who didn't pay. at first, yes, i think there would be decent attendance, but it would fall off quite rapidly. I feel that even if Prodigal had managed the team properly, there would still have only been around 3,50-4,000 fans average attendance, with some weekends getting close if not over that 5k mark. but what i really learned through my time on the Barons advisory board (on top of the fact that Prodigal had no clue what they were doing), was that OKC really only has about 1,500 hardcore hockey fans, about 3,000 blazers-only fans, and about another 2,000 people who really loved free fights on ice.

[Roger S]

was that OKC really only has about 1,500 hardcore hockey fans

Yeah and they are all hanging out at Arctic Edge watching the UCO Bronchos now..... That crowd gets crazy when they play OU!

[jedicurt]

Yeah and they are all hanging out at Arctic Edge watching the UCO Bronchos now..... That crowd gets crazy when they play OU!

well, not all of the time. i have had to miss more games than i would have liked this year do to work. but i bet there is a solid core group of them there! it's some great hockey!

[Jersey Boss]

the game of hockey has changed from the 90's CHL days... the ECHL is a development league, not a league with just a bunch of fights for a bunch of fans who didn't pay. at first, yes, i think there would be decent attendance, but it would fall off quite rapidly. I feel that even if Prodigal had managed the team properly, there would still have only been around 3,50-4,000 fans average attendance, with some weekends getting close if not over that 5k mark. but what i really learned through my time on the Barons advisory board (on top of the fact that Prodigal had no clue what they were doing), was that OKC really only has about 1,500 hardcore hockey fans, about 3,000 blazers-only fans, and about another 2,000 people who really loved free fights on ice.

Lol, my next door neighbor who hails from Maine and myself, a Jersey native, are grateful that each of us live next door to " the other NHL fan in Norman." Go Rangers!

[jedicurt]

Lol, my next door neighbor who hails from Maine and myself, a Jersey native, are grateful that each of us live next door to " the other NHL fan in Norman." Go Rangers!

i mean. i have my Brian Leetch Jersey framed and on my wall in Norman. lol. perhaps a meetup at BIG during the playoffs this year is called for! i don't really have a team. i follow players mostly.

[Bill Robertson]

i mean. i have my Brian Leetch Jersey framed and on my wall in Norman. lol. perhaps a meetup at BIG during the playoffs this year is called for! i don't really have a team. i follow players mostly.

I’m a Avs fan. I have a signed Patrick Roy jersey in my office.
As to local hockey. I LOVED the Blazers at State Fair Arena. My wife and I and 2 or 3 other couples would go eat before, get in the game and have a few beers while enjoying hockey for very little $. They even let us bring in our own popcorn! I know those days are gone but a Barons game in cheap seats, with dinner (with a couple drinks) somewhere in Bricktown or Midtown was $100 to $150 for my wife and I. That wasn’t gonna happen more than a few times a season. ECHL wouldn’t be as cheap as CHL but not nearly as expensive as AHL or NHL.

[Jersey Boss]

i mean. i have my Brian Leetch Jersey framed and on my wall in Norman. lol. perhaps a meetup at BIG during the playoffs this year is called for! i don't really have a team. i follow players mostly.

I'm looking forward to it. Love me a Nompton or two. Unlike you though I am a fan of one team with a good healthy dislike of the Bruins and Islanders. However when the playoffs begin I am more of a fan of an original 6 team than the others if the Rangers are out of it.
Anybody here grow a beard when their team is in the playoffs?