Done?

HMDA approved an increased interest rate for the Big Sandy Superstore Arena's bonds, from 7.5% to 8.5%. This would lower the actual amount of money the Arena would have to work with by $200,000-300,000, which in classic fashion is about how much it would cost to do all the ice work they wanted to do in the first place. WSAZ says, however, that they are looking to get a "lower" interest rate, so I don't know if 7.5% is still doable. If it is, then we're still looking at ice. If not... well I'll post something up here and a few other places in that case. I've had a rough go of it the last few weeks, and I have a nice little rant building up in me.

More press on that council meeting yesterday

Tony Rutherford, always on top of things:

...public comment generally centered on one item of the upgrade --- ice. Earlier Huntington’s Council had broadened a $300,000 ice hockey upgrade as an “infrastructure” upgrade, which could include ice skating or ice hockey, but does not commit the city to either option.

Public comment honed more on the skating option as well as the ability to books shows such as “Disney on Ice” or “Ice Capades.”

Roger Smith told council “if we have an ice skating facility, it makes another destination downtown. You would be surprised at the (community) commitment to public skating.”

Jim McClelland ,retired director of the Huntington Parks and Recreation Commission, told council that he’s interested in public recreation not offered in Huntington and the surrounding area. Previously, a speaker said that ice skaters have to travel to Charleston, WV or Athens, Ohio.

McClelland said that if economically viable “ice skating brings in more than hockey.” Noting that he once managed some of the largest outdoor ice skating facilities in the United States, McClelland noted that “ice hockey is affordable, family friendly recreation.”

Council Finance Director Steve Williams acknowledged the encouraging public comments regarding ice skating.

“Now, let’s see how the [possible $300,000 ice expenditure] creates a value proposition for the city and adds the civic arena as a destination,” Williams said.

Having McClelland on board with this was huge--as I relayed from Bill Sawyers last night, his comments "drained the color from Steve Williams's face".

Oh, one little bit of trivia--Roger Smith at one point was an interested party in putting a new hockey team in town earlier in the decade. Eenterresteengg...

BTW, the Herald-Dispatch has a story, but it's "print-only"--if someone can relay that over to me, please do. Elsewise this page will be a couple days behind on it. Sorry kids :^P

Passed unanimously

Only press so far, but with no mention of its passage. Some mention of the public commenting:

Talk of the ice rink spilled over into the public's comments during the City Council meeting.

Bill said those comments included former Greater Huntington Parks and Rec boss Jim McClelland, during whose comments "the color drained from Steve Williams's face".

I should have more to type on this tomorrow.

This will be interesting

The HISCO meeting on Monday will be a partial teleconference, as I will be unable to attend--they're calling for about a foot of snow starting Sunday night here in the Panhandle. Phone reception has been weird here lately though; I wonder how many times I'll have to call back in :^P

For your listening pleasure...

Bill Sawyers was on Paul Swann's show this evening--podcast here in case ya missed it!

Swampin' Steve

I had a correspondence with someone who had been emailing Huntington City Council regarding the ice equipment at BSSA; we both happen to have inside information regarding the previously-mentioned junior hockey prospects for Huntington, but his comes as the father of a midget hockey player who could potentially end up in Huntington if a team ends up there! He got a response from Steve Williams...

Thank you for taking time to reach out to me again about the proposed hockey improvements at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena in Huntington, WV.

I understand your passion for the sport and desire to return a professional hockey franchise to Huntington. I am concerned about borrowing $300,000, paying it back over 20 years and using it to support a venture that recently was not able to sustain itself for a decade. That being said, I have asked the Civic Arena management and the Mayor to determine the economic feasibility of spending money on "hockey infrastructure." If it can be determined that ice rink infrastructure creates a true value proposition by strategically positioning the Civic Arena as a destination point and establishes consistent entertainment opportunities not available in other arenas in the region...I will fully support the ice rink expenditures.

The difference in this conversation, in my estimation, is we are borrowing money. We must always be careful in how we spend public dollars. We must be even more diligent in our assessment when we are spending borrowed money.

As I said earlier, I understand and appreciate your desire for a hockey franchise. I will support the expenditure on "hockey infrastructure" if the economic feasibility can be demonstrated.

Thanks again for taking time to contact me.

The only difference between Steve's response to this hockey dad and his response to me is that mine included a single sentence acknowledging what he said to WSAZ about his skepticism of the hockey equipment provision. This tells me that he's resorting to form letters, meaning:

1. he's a hack, and
2. we're overloading them THAT MUCH.

Their contact pages are still down, by the way. Meantime, keep your ears peeled--Bill Sawyers will be on X106.3/107.1 sometime this week talking about HISCO with noted puck-head Erik.

Press for the meeting

Tony Rutherford has a write-up off the press release I cobbled together for the HISCO meeting on the 13th. A good read--but I have one problem...

Fans supporting ice hockey will meet (tentatively) Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.. in the Cabell County Library meeting room, said Lenny Sundahi, one of the organizers of The Huntington Ice Sports Coalition (HISCO).

My last name is Sundahl. In the digital age this is the new cool way to misspell my name. Seriously, the DMV did this not too long ago to me. But hey, I'll take the press however I can get it.

One other thing: the Facebook group address is wrong. This is my fault though; I figured that interpreting Facebook pages would pretty much be universal, but with the fan pages they add a bunch of redundant digits to the end. I will probably send out a correction/clarification with a TinyURL link.

New website coming soon!

Behold, the under-construction home of the Huntington Ice Sports Coalition--what myself and Bill Sawyers have elected to formalize this push of ours to get a new team in town. He's doing the work on that site--if anyone has any contributions of one sort or another, his email address--fittingly--is huntingtonhockey@aol.com.

(Want confusion? The address I set up for HISCO press releases is huntingtonhockey@gmail.com.)

Changing things around a little bit

The Facebook widget now goes to the newly-christened Huntington Ice Sports Coalition.

City council-types on the radio

Nate Randolph was on Bobby Nelson's show this afternoon, and eventually the topic got to hockey. I tried to transcribe some of this, but it's a terrible idea at 11:30 at night, so here's the podcast link. The basics--you'll wanna scroll to the end, around 40:00--Randolph takes the "I want to see it happen, but we want to see a good management team step up first" perspective; one notable bit he says is that the wording actually doesn't need to be changed, since it's such a small part of the total bond ($.3 of $5.1mil). Bobby Nelson, meanwhile, seems to be pretty enthusiastic about wanting another team in town--not surprising, seeing as he was mayor when the Blizzard arrived and helped get that deal done.

I think we look like idiots to these people

Headline at the industry website Arena Digest: "Big Sandy to install ice--but no rink equipment"

See, this is what happens when you look wishy-washy. When you go halfway. This is why I want to push the city to try and get a team in town--and if the fact that I can't access the pages that have individual council members' contact info is any indication, we're making progress somehow :^P

They hear you (well some of them do)

On the one hand...

Huntington City Council member Mark Bates said he received a number of calls in the past two weeks, some from local business owners, who support using bond money for new ice-making equipment at Big Sandy Superstore Arena.

On the other hand...

"Ice hockey really did not succeed previously. Why would we want to spend $300,000 on something that did not succeed before? That might be throwing good money after bad," City Council member Steve Williams said.

The Blizzard, by my count, are the longest-lasting pro sports venture to play in Huntington. Perhaps someone should remind Mr. Williams of this. But hey, some of City Council are listening.

In the meantime, I've set a date/time/place to get together and sort out our options/plans/ideas/etc. on getting organized hockey back in town: December 13, 1pm at the Cabell County Library. Yes, it's a Monday, but hopefully A--you guys have enough time to schedule off work, and/or B--you can schedule your lunch break around it. I'll bring food! :^D

Perspective is always nice

I've been having some nice email convos with Bryan Chambers, the Herald-Dispatch's City Hall writer. He says that, contrary to my own interpretation, nobody in city government is actively against a hockey team coming around, and that the deal the city would be getting with these bonds is simply too good to pass up.

Why am I simply nodding in agreement? Well I've been down in the trenches on this long enough that I'm forgetting that this is, after all, public money. If it doesn't involve emergency services or potholes, a large chunk of the populace will wonder why the hell it was spent on emergency services or potholes! It's a tricky road, no pun intended.

Does that mean we should let up? Of course not. We still need to let it be known that there is a fanbase that is more than ready to pound down the doors in support of a new hockey team. But keep in mind there are other considerations on everyone's plates. Perhaps it's just my inner diplomat talking here...

Call your councillor. Right now.

Facebook Bill talked to Kim Wolfe today--he does in fact like the idea of having a hockey team in town. However, six unspecified city councillors--a majority of council--would have voted against the bond measure had the hockey-specific language remained in it! De-emphasizing hockey was the only thing that salvaged the arena improvements.

So since I don't know who to get a hold of, I guess we're going to have to get a hold of EVERYONE. The city council map is here. Their contact info is here (and before anyone starts complaining about posting peoples' phonenumbers, this information is readily accessible at the City of Huntington website):

District 1: Jim Ritter: 304-429-1882, email jritter@cityofhuntington.com

District 2: Teresa Loudermilk: 304-429-8272, email tloudermilk@cityofhuntington.com

District 3: Frances Jackson: 304-522-2257 or 304-654-6488, email fjackson@cityofhuntington.com

District 4: Nate Randolph: 304-697-0318, email nrandolph@cityofhuntington.com

District 5: Sandra Clements: 304-697-7335, email sclements@cityofhuntington.com

District 6: Mark Bates: 304-733-5570 or 304-525-3878, email mbates@cityofhuntington.com

District 7: Scott Caserta: 304-523-5466, email scaserta@cityofhuntington.com

District 8: Russell Houck: 304-523-7230, email rhouck@cityofhuntington.com

District 9: Jim Insco: 304-523-2236 or 304-638-4959, email jinsco@cityofhuntington.com

At-large: Steve Williams: 304-523-2590 or 304-526-4680, email swilliams@cityofhuntington.com

At-large: Becky Thacker: 304-429-2655, email rthacker@cityofhuntington.com

What the "general infrastructure" change really means

I had to Google-cache the article from Bryan Chambers on this evening's meeting of City Council. Good thing I did, as I can put this on here before I go to sleep: with the $300,000 originally going to hockey bits now going to "general infrastructure", the arena will have to come up with other funding for new glass, according to manager Brian Sipe. He still wants to upgrade the ice surface, however, since at the very least you can have open skates, Reptar On Ice and things like that.

Wanna be startin' somethin'

I want to have a summit/conference/meeting/brainstorming session/insert your name for it here. Everyone who can read this and is interested in putting a hockey team in Huntington or the surrounding area--whether you have the means to actually put a team on the ice, or you just want to have a new jersey to add to your collection--is invited. I'm looking at December 13, the day City Council takes the bond for a vote; to those of you dropping in, would that day (a Monday) be good to get together, or the day before (Sunday the 12th) or the day after (Tuesday the 14th)?

The current situation

The USHL group--which was indirectly identified by Bryan Chambers's article in the H-D the other day--informed me that they will be stepping back from the Huntington market until--their words, slightly altered--"the city gives a $#!&". We now have concrete evidence that the lollygagging of the city on this has adversely affected our ability to land a hockey team.

Does the city care that they may have run off their best shot at putting a hockey team in that building? I don't know; with the city's four-day work week, I haven't had a response from the Mayor to my letter (which I will post at the tail-end here). I did get some decent off-day correspondence from Brian Sipe at the BSSA; he says that they're looking mainly to fix up some of the cooling equipment "so we can run an efficient ice plant if needed"; I inquired and he did say they needed to replace a Zamboni.

This has been something that Facebook Bill and I had been discussing--what exactly is needed? Is $300,000 enough? Probably. Bill told me when he last inquired the arena needed:

• Zambonis that work
• new glass
• coolant
• new ice deck
• kickboards
• netting above the glass
• one set of new goals (one set already at the arena just needs a fresh coat of paint)

By our estimates, that would all come out to a shade under $300,000. So this checks out. If they're only getting one Zamboni (and Sipe's response on the Zamboni question was in singular form), this would be an extra cost savings that could go toward the ice system.

Lastly, that email--and those of you passing through here, I implore you to tell the city you want hockey! At this point it is up to us to make our wishes known. They say they want to know that there will be support, after all!

KIM WOLFE: phone 304-696-5540 email mayorwolfe@cityofhuntington.com

BRIAN SIPE: phone 304-696-5566 email briansipe@bigsandyarena.com

YOUR CITY COUNCILLOR: check here

Mayor Wolfe:

I read in the Herald-Dispatch this morning that your reservations on specifically allocating money toward hockey equipment focused on not knowing whether there would be adequate support for a team. As somebody who has, in one way shape or form, been tracking hockey in Huntington since I first came to Marshall in 2002--and have immersed myself in the subject for almost four years now--I can say that from a fan and investor standpoint there is definitely interest.

First off, I noticed a seeming disconnect between your office and arena management, and even within City Hall: you stated that you did not know if there were interested investors, yet AJ Boleski is cited as having fielded serious inquiries from at least three groups, and Ms. Jacobs-Jones in Administration/Finance has made contact with at least one of these groups. Furthermore, I have kept in close contact with (name redacted) and can say that interest has not been lost with his group; in fact, if a lack of conviction that the city will make the necessary improvements to the arena is the problem, de-emphasizing hockey infrastructure in the bond wording would seem to be counter-productive.

As for whether it would be supported locally: since I began writing on hockey in Huntington, the majority of my response when bringing up the subject to others has been positive, and usually in one of two camps: either "I remember the Blizzard, those were good times", or (typically from out-of-state Marshall students) "wow, there used to be a hockey team here?" Furthermore, the additional development of downtown in the decade since the Blizzard left can only help attract fans; people are already coming to eat, shop, work, so why not wrap up the day with a hockey game? As it stands, the longest-lasting organized sports endeavor not involving Marshall University was the seven-year tenure of the Huntington Blizzard, and this was with shaky ownership groups. With adequate promotion, a new team could entertain my grandchildren.

Regardless of the wording, I feel it is in Huntington's best interests that the bonds go forward to keep the Big Sandy Superstore Arena an attractive venue for both promoters and fans. I would just like to emphasize my belief that improvements to the hockey equipment would not be an unwise investment, and should still go forward.

Best regards,

Lenny Sundahl

huntingtonhockey.blogspot.com

I'm going to crosspost this to the Facebook group, with slightly more militant language

Mayor Kim Wolfe:

We need to find out if there are investors willing to bring a team here. We need to find out if people will support another team. And we need to see if the whole project would be feasible.

There is support. There are interested parties--the various principals involved in running the city of Huntington can't communicate apparently...

A.J. Boleski, said earlier this year that three or four serious inquiries had been made by existing team owners or leagues. One investment group looking to start a hockey league geared toward the top high school prospects in the country even made a presentation to council members two years ago. But interest waned when the city couldn't guarantee that the arena would replace its aging seats and upgrade its ice-making equipment, said Brandi Jacobs-Jones, the city's director of administration and finance.

So there ARE people willing to bring a team here. This answers the first part of your question, Mayor Wolfe. BTW, that "one investment group" is the USHL group that Tony Rutherford reported on back in May last year. Without divulging too much inside info, the people involved in that effort--who ARE STILL INTERESTED--have experience at the highest levels of sport. We're not simply talking major leagues, but international experience as well. In short: YOU WOULD HAVE ALREADY HAD A TEAM IN HUNTINGTON IF YOU HAD JUST GOTTEN ON THE BALL, PEOPLE. (I'm of course yelling at the bigwigs, don't get up and storm out on me yet guys!)

Now on to fan support. Since I've been doing this--almost four years now--the people I've spoken with on the street have typically given me two reactions: either "yeah, I remember the Blizzard, those were good times" or "wow, Huntington had a hockey team?" (The latter response, not surprisingly, comes from people new to the area.) I think the majority of people would at a minimum be favorable to a venture like this; with competitive pricing and decent promotion, I think it would do quite well. Also keep in mind the improvement of downtown over the last decade--people are already coming to downtown Huntington to shop, eat, work, why not throw in a hockey game?

This can work. It requires the cooperation of municipal government, however, since the building is owned by the city, and this is where our trouble comes in. It's become clear that the problem is not merely penny-pinching, or a stacking of priorities, but a divide in communication.

BTW, if you want to communicate your support--and let Kim Wolfe know you will support another team--his phonenumber is 696-5540, email is mayorwolfe@cityofhuntington.com.

Stew on this for a little bit, I'll type up something later today

http://www.herald-dispatch.com/news/briefs/x104558994/Hockey-proposal-needs-more-study-says-mayor

I have to hit the road for work today. Bloody figures, the one day this week something happens that warrents a long stretch of typing, and I have to be busy. Damn obligations!

Our dates, and this time I'm bloody serious

Bloody serious because it comes from the email desk of Finance Director Deron Runyon:

November 15, 4pm: Municipal Development Authority meeting, first reading there

November 17, 6:45pm: Finance Committee meeting, discussion

November 18, 4pm: City Council work session, discussion for...

November 22, 7:30pm: City Council meeting, first reading there

November 29, 4pm: Municipal Development Authority meeting, special session for second reading

December 9, 4pm: City Council work session

December 13, 4pm: Municipal Development Authority meeting, third reading and vote

December 13, 7:30pm: City Council meeting, second reading and vote

So we will in fact know for sure before Christmas! Now things get fun...

And we're officially back on the clock!

The West Virginia Economic Development Authority approved $5.1 million in bonds today for several upgrades to the Big Sandy Superstore Arena. Bill Sawyers, proprietor of the "Bring Hockey Back" Facebook group and general man-about-things, tells me there will be a special session of city council prior to Monday's meeting to discuss this development. As it stands the dragging on of this matter--for whatever reason--means the chances of any team taking to the ice in 2011 is slim; that being said, the ball is once again rolling, and I will be consulting my various moles as regularly as I can.

I should add that the RiverPlace ballpark development got another $11mil today as well--this could be the biggest day of good news for sports in Huntington in a while!

UPDATE: 10/22/10: Herald-Dispatch reports that they're shooting for the first meeting in November to start the process--which would put a final approval sometime in December. The city is walking a tightrope...

Storm coming

I've been QUITE preoccupied here lately, and my laptop has gone kaput, thus the lack of updating (I'm working on my wife's Mac). Also, nothing has happened--but if everyone has told me the real deal, there should be new info on the BSSA's bond package tomorrow.

Until then, as a service to all I've found the website for the West Virginia Wild hockey program. You kids out there, if you want a hockey fix in WV--well the southern end anyway--this is where to start.

THIS time, I'm pretty damn sure this is the right date

Copypasted from Huntington finance director Deron Runyon:

"It is our intention to file our state application next week requesting approval at the EDA meeting in October."

That would be October 21, kids. If that goes down as hoped for, upgrades for Big Sandy will come just in time for Thanksgiving...

Been busy with everything except this page

Sorry for the lack of updates... today is when the WV Economic Development Agency takes up the bond measure for the Arena, so literally nothing has happened on that front since I last typed, and then I've been ridiculously busy with various other things, so I haven't gotten any more transcribing done. There's also that whole "I live on the other side of the state" thing, and the fact that my computer has gone to hell--I'm typing this on my wife's computer.

But did I mention the bond gets taken up today? Cross fingers and all that good stuff, I should have some good news to post here soon...

I think I'm dyslexic when it comes to reading tea leaves

It dawned upon me that just because city council APPROVES the city applying for something, does not necessarily mean that the city actually applied that very moment. I then gave the WVEDA a call and was informed that there was nothing relating to the BSSA on their agenda for today's (tonight?) meeting, though there is something up for money for the River Place project. Unless someone was sneaky and worked it into that bundle, the money would not be coming up until the September 16 meeting. Deron Runyon said "end of September" earlier, so I figure if it doesn't come up then, it's probably not coming up.

In the meantime, say hello your new arena manager!

Okay, here's where we stand

A RESOLUTION OF COUNCIL RETURNING THE ALLOCATION OF THE RECOVERY ZONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOND LIMITATION ALLOCATED TO THE CITY BY THE COUNTY COMMISSION OF CABELL COUNTY UNDER SECTION 1400U-1(a)(3)(A) OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNAL REVENUE CODE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF RECOVERY ZONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BONDS THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED TO A PROJECT AT THE BIG SANDY SUPERSTORE ARENA FOR THE CITY

Jim Insco confirms that the bonds that Cabell County had approved earlier in the year were returned, since the city had until July 30 to use them anyhow.

AND APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR RECOVERY ZONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOND VOLUME CAP WITH THE WEST VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

However, the city simultaneously applied at the state level for the same bond. Finance Director Deron Runyon says the city will know the bond status by the end of September, and will have the rest of the year to finalize things.

So things are a little more complicated--the city has to get RE-approved for bonds now--but at least this shows that city council still wants to get this done, despite all the municipal shenanigans going on in Huntington.

UPDATE: 11 Aug, 9:25am: per the website of the WV Economic Development Authority, applications made by the 1st of August would be heard in their meeting on the 19th--next Thursday...

Somebody help me translate Muncipalfinancese!

Catching up--been quite hectic round these parts lately--and found this in the July 26 Huntington City Council agenda:

Resolution re: A RESOLUTION OF COUNCIL RETURNING THE ALLOCATION OF THE RECOVERY ZONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOND LIMITATION ALLOCATED TO THE CITY BY THE COUNTY COMMISSION OF CABELL COUNTY UNDER SECTION 1400U-1(a)(3)(A) OF THE UNITED STATES INTERNAL REVENUE CODE FOR THE ISSUANCE OF RECOVERY ZONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BONDS THAT WAS PREVIOUSLY ALLOCATED TO A PROJECT AT THE BIG SANDY SUPERSTORE ARENA FOR THE CITY AND APPROVING THE APPLICATION FOR RECOVERY ZONE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT BOND VOLUME CAP WITH THE WEST VIRGINIA ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY

I THINK this means that the city is re-applying for the bonds. Fired off an email to Steve Williams, will keep yas posted. And I will be getting back to those transcriptions once things get less hectic here.

The running order for interview transcripts

Already did both parts for Dr. Haptonstall and Jared Bednar. The remainder of my playlist looks like this:

Kelly Harper
Ray Edwards
Todd McCormick
Paul Pickard
Jim Bermingham
Don Hatfield
Mark Williams
Ernie Salvatore, part 1
David Walsh
Ernie Salvatore, part 2

Interview transcript: Jared Bednar

(Since doing this interview, Jared Bednar's coaching career has taken off--shortly after this interview, he was bumped up to head coach in South Carolina, where he won a Kelly Cup in 2009. He followed that up with an assistant's role for the AHL's Abbotsford Heat, who made the playoffs their first year, and will be entering his first year as head coach of the Peoria Rivermen. As for Jim Bermingham and Ray Edwards--who get namedropped here--we'll get to them later...)

LENNY: ...okay! And we're actually recording now! All right, so, Mr. Bednar...

JARED BEDNAR: Yes!

LENNY: Okay, we are talking--we are talking Huntington Blizzard hockey, which you are one of--the only inaugural member to last more than I think, a season and a half.

JARED BEDNAR: (laughter) Yeah, I guess so! I believe we started out the second year there with a couple guys and ended up being the only guy making it through that year.

LENNY: Yes, you ended up--you were a part of that first season, fresh out of juniors...

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah...

LENNY: Did you just try out there, or...?

JARED BEDNAR: I started out, I went to Greensboro actually, in the same league, to the Greensboro Generals, and then right before the regular season, I got released from Greensboro, and I wanna say there was three or four of us that came over from Greensboro to Huntington. Basically, the coaches talked during training camp, and Huntington was still looking for players, and the three or four of us went in and met the team, and basically stuck around from there.

LENNY: You were part of that first season, which I have been referring to as The Year From Hell...

JARED BEDNAR: (laughter) Yeah, it was different! I'm not sure that, everyone knew what to expect, I mean at that time the league was expanding, lots of new ownership groups coming in, and, it was definitely a learning experience. We weren't--we didn't do too well on the ice, we--it was fun, it's an interesting city, I really enjoyed my time there, that's for sure. But we didn't win a whole bunch of games there my first year, but after coming back for the second year, it was very--I found it very rewarding, I was able to-- not make the playoffs, I believe the first year there we won only like 14 games, and then the second year we jumped out to a quick start, had all different personnel, a new coach, and took off, got out of the gates really good, and ended up making the playoffs that year. So that was very rewarding after suffering through the first season.

LENNY: That first season you ultimately ended up with three different coaches: there was Bob Kelly to start the season...

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah...

LENNY: ...they fired him in December...

JARED BEDNAR: ...right...

LENNY: ...and Destocki on the interim until they hired Paul Pickard...

JARED BEDNAR: ...Paul Pickard, correct...

LENNY: ...and I was just kinda wanting your take on the different coaching styles and such.

JARED BEDNAR: Well I think Bob was used to--although he had played many years pro, I wanna say that he had coached younger guys, like at the high school or prep hockey level--I'm not sure what his background was in coaching, I don't think he had coached pro hockey before, certainly at times I enjoyed playing for all of them. Like I said, we struggled--I think it was, it might have been a situation, knowing what I know now, that they probably got started late in their recruiting, and then, it was probably tough to find players at that time--the league wasn't as large and wasn't as popular. And then Bob took over--Destocki took over, for the interim, like you'd said, so that was brief, but he was part of the group that was running the team at the time, and certainly got to know him fairly well, and then when they hired Paul Pickard, basically we ended up going through a second training camp when they hired Paul. He brought in a lot of new players, made a lot of changes, I mean obviously we needed to. We weren't winning prior to that, basically gave everyone another chance to try out for the team, and a lot of moves were made, and it was a lot more structured under Paul, and then when he came back the second year we had a whole--a lot of new guys again, he recruited over the summertime, and we ended up having a really good team that second year. We tapered off in the second half, and I wanna say ended up losing to Dayton in the first round...

LENNY: Yeah, it was Dayton in four games in the first round... But yeah, '94 was a marked improvement, and then just massive upheaval in the offseason...

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah...

LENNY: There was an ownership squabble, team got sold, coaching staff flipped over, and you ended up with Grant Sonier for coach for what ended up being your last half-season...

JARED BEDNAR: That was my last year, that would have been the third year of the team, Grant Sonier came in. Yeah, that was--funny, I had played in Huntington, and ended up going to play roller hockey that summer in Anaheim, CA, and Grant was the head coach out there for the roller hockey team, and then next thing you know he was behind the bench in Huntington. That was the year I actually got traded--Dan Fournel and I both got traded to South Carolina, and they--basically, we were in need of a goaltender, and that's what--they got a defenseman in Tom Menicci and a goaltender (Eric Raymond) for Dan Fournel and myself. We were roommates at the time, so it was-- that was my first time being traded as a pro, and I went through my first year wanting basically-- no one likes to lose, and when you start losing a lot of games, you're always thinking "well maybe I need a change", like I was wanting to possibly get out of Huntington my first year, to really enjoying myself and the guys and the town and the fans and everything the second year, and then my third year when I got traded to South Carolina I was crushed! I was devastated. I had met a girlfriend down in Huntington, and ended up being my wife--I met my wife in Huntington, and ended up getting married a few years later. I spent a few offseasons back in Huntington, and now we call Charleston, SC home.

LENNY: Yeah. You said that was the first time, as far as I can tell that was the last time you were traded as a hockey player I think...

JARED BEDNAR: (laughter)

LENNY: ...I mean, obviously you would know more about it then I would.

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah, I was--actually, that's probably right. I bounced around, like I had played on some teams at the American League level, and been released off 25-gamers (contracts) here and there, but at this level I got traded to, obviously, Charleston, South Carolina, and I'm still with the team down here--I had a couple stints away from the team in the International League and the American League, but I'm happy to still call Charleston home, and still in the hockey business, so, I mean, it's been good to me. Obviously Huntington was a big part of my career--it's where I started, and, you learn a lot from your seasons that you win, and you also learn a lot from the seasons that you don't win, and how to improve and stuff, so I can't take that away from, my career, and obviously--like I said, I met my wife, and have two beautiful children now, and I would have never met her if I wasn't stationed in Huntington at one point along the way!

LENNY: There was something on the tip of the tongue that I was going to ask, and I can't quite remember it now! I was wanting to kinda, bring all that sorta together to an extent. Although--you're assistant coach and vice president of hockey operations, which--I've never seen the assistant named the head of hockey operations before...

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah. Well we got into a little bit of a--just a different situation where I was handling some of the business, as far as travel, and bills that were being paid, you know with the union, and just the rules that happen in this league... I don't know, I just slowly over the last few years started doing more and more on the business side, and wanted to add that title and a little bit more responsibility, and it just, as it worked out this year, I've been granted that title, and now obviously I've taken on some more responsibilities on the business side, but I still--I'm doing all the things I've been doing over the last few years as far as assistant coach. So I guess I have, two jobs, but at this level, the coach/general manager, every team sort of has--their coach has a different role, and some teams have assistants, some don't, some teams have a general manager and just a head coach, every team I think just finds a way--has a system that works for them, and it's been really good for us this year. I think the year's ran smoothly, and, obviously I'm excited about this position, it's part of the game I enjoy, the business side of it, but I like to be on the ice and coaching as well.

LENNY: I wasn't sure how into the business end you, yourself, would be, cause I was going to ask, you having been with in Charleston with the Stingrays franchise for the last--you've been there off and on for the last decade...

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah...

LENNY: ...and just--again, with you kind of being a bit more on the behind-the-scenes side of things now, just--I guess basically having been in Huntington, and knowing the Huntington angle of things, and also the office kind of angle of things, I guess what would it--my question is all disjointed now... (I mangled the English language in this passage much more than I was willing to transcribe --LS)

JARED BEDNAR: ...right, no, I understand what--I think I know where you're going with this thing. I think over the years--are you asking, like what would it take to have a successful franchise?

LENNY: What would it take, and if you could apply what you've witnessed in your time in Huntington, what you've witnessed in your time in Charleston...

JARED BEDNAR: ...right...

LENNY: ...and I guess just compare and contrast, sort of.

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah. I think--the league is constantly evolving, and the league itself, not just the ownership groups but the league itself is constantly finding ways to help out, teams that are in need. I mean, I don't think it's a big secret that there's still--you know minor hockey, to have a team successful, both financially and on the ice, is--I think it takes a lot of hard work. It's not those days like we went through in Charleston when I first got traded here, they were an expansion team at the same time Huntington was an expansion--they both came into the league at the exact same time--and basically, I think the situation down here in Charleston, it was, they just put the team together, marketed a little bit, and next thing you know open the doors and 9,000 people came into the building! And over the years, our attendance numbers have dropped, and continued to drop all the way down, and lots of teams have gone out of business, obviously, in the meantime. I think we've done--this organization in Charleston's done a great job of, using all the resources we have with the league and other teams that have been successful in the league, and they do a much better job now sharing that with other ownership groups, and everyone's on the same page, I mean obviously with the economics of the league you need teams around you to be successful so you can continue to play them so you're not traveling too far, and just keep the costs down as far as that goes. You have-- all the divisions are structured geographically, make sure the travel--you have a lot less overnight travel now, and just all those sorts of expenses that can really add up and ruin your budget are now being thought of by the league and by the owners, and everyone's on the same page a lot more than they were, I think, back in the day when I was in Huntington. But I think, like--it's a struggle to make sure you can have return fans in the building and then also recruit new fans to the game, and, our office staff here in Charleston has gone from five or six, seven people over the recent years to now we have as many as 13 or 14 people in our front office working and selling tickets constantly, and that's the big thing. You have to have people in the building to be successful, and then, obviously you let your hockey department take care of the other side of winning hockey games.

LENNY: On that note, I guess anything else notable we haven't touched on? Anything you'd like to throw in the mix there, just to wrap up here?

JARED BEDNAR: I can't think of anything in general... I was sad to see the team leave Huntington, I know, with other teams in that area I think it would have been a good hockey market, I mean, I'm not sure--there's a lot of teams in our league that do really well for a few years and then find their way--find out that it's a little tougher to keep the business running than what they thought, I guess. But, obviously, like I said I enjoyed my time in Huntington, and I enjoyed playing there. I met a lot of good friends, some guys that I still talk to that are still in the business, like Jim Bermingham's running the team in Knoxville, in the Southern Professional Hockey League, and Ray Edwards, who was a coach there, and was with Huntington long after I was gone, is still a good friend of mine, and he's out in the Central League running a team, and-- you meet a lot of contacts along the way and see these guys, and you all move on, but the hockey world's still a small world...

LENNY: And on that note, I guess we'll wrap this up here!

JARED BEDNAR: Okay.

LENNY: I thank you very much for taking your time out there, coach--assistant coach/GM Bednar...

JARED BEDNAR: Thank you!

LENNY: ...and the phones seemed to be ringing off the hook there a little bit ago, earlier in the interview, I don't know if that was your phone...

JARED BEDNAR: Yeah, that was my cellphone actually, a couple of the guys calling--I'll return those calls, they'll be fine.

LENNY: Yeah, I was about to say, I'll let you get back to that there...

Some visual stimuli

Not everyone has Facebook, so I thought I'd repost on here some pictures I dug out from Huntington/Charleston's prehistory...

Kids hockey camp at South Charleston Memorial

The Putnam Herald says that there will be a youth hockey camp at South Charleston starting next Monday for the next six Mondays for kids 4-13. Sponsored by the West Virginia Wild program, which won the McCarthy Cup tournament--way to go guys!

Dunno how this may play into things

AJ Boleski will be out as manager of the Big Sandy Superstore Arena after July 23; he's been transferred over to the Intrust Bank Center in Wichita, mainly to be closer to family (AJ's originally from Kansas). Not sure how this will affect the chances to put hockey back in the BSSA, but I will certainly be keeping tabs on this development...

Interview footage: Dr. Clark Haptonstall, Part 2

LENNY: ...a good bit better now. So we'll begin because--this actually kinda ties in quite nicely--half the reason I'm calling back is because I ended up--long story short I managed to not record the first half of the last interview.

DR. CLARK: Oh gosh.

L: Yeah. We were--I had one interview going into the next interview, and I just kept going--I just kept the thing running, so i didn't end up actually looking to check if it was even recording. So I missed the entire first interview I was doing, and then...

C: Oh boy.

L: ...yeah, I managed to make that up, and then i nudged the mouse later, and was like "wait a sec, that didn't record and of that! GYAHHH!" So the first half of that, the Hornets chunk, I ended up losing, but there were a couple of bits that--now that I've talked with some of the other people as well, Ernie Salvatore and Don Hatfield in particular, I was wanting to plug some of them into there, because one thing I had remembered from when we were talking the other day was you had mentioned how--the Fieldhouse basically being a gift from the local and state politicians, and Ernie had mentioned it basically being patterned after all the big sports "gardens" of the time, like Madison Square Garden, like Chicago Stadium, and stuff like that--were they really--was that basically their intent, they were going to give them the most state of the art arena they could find?

C: At the time, it definitely was, and they wanted--they were hoping that the arena would be a complete oval that would seat about 8,000 people. What they ended up having was a steel strike during the building of the arena, and what it did is it made prices really almost cost-prohibitive for steel, so they went from an 8,000 seat oval to about a 6500 seat horseshoe, and they made the seats a little bit smaller than they had wanted to in order to be able to reach that attendance number.

L: And then when the hockey team actually came in there, something that Hatfield had mentioned was they had essentially done a learn-the-game scrimmage, and I was just kinda--this kinda plugs in more to the Blizzard, but did they do anything like that when the Blizzard came into town? Anything to kinda get people acquainted to the sport?

C: Um, I don't remember so much a scrimmage that was designed for that purpose, but I do know that first year especially that they would go out of their way to explain hockey rules, whether it be in handouts or the game program or the PA announcer trying to explain what icing was or hooking.

L: There was something else--ah yes, I just remembered the other thing that came up when I was talking with Hatfield was attendance, which was--attendance wasn't that great, but I know they were basically--they spent the whole time they were there trying to compete with Marshall's basketball team, which at the time was fan-freakin-tastic. But Hatfield was mentioning that as the season progressed, they started to get more and more fans, and I was just--I guess a little something to tack onto that, if you could possibly...

C: When they first started the season, there was certainly a lot of confusion about hockey because it was just not a location that there was any hockey news, that hockey just hadn't made an impression in Huntington. So I think once people found that it was exciting, and that the team was pretty good, that it carried on, and attendance grew toward the latter half of the season.

L: From there I wanted to move on to slightly more present-type matters, and I was--one thing I had forgotten I was going to ask from last time was something I'd noticed from looking through things is there was kinda like this nice little curve--I'm not sure if nice is really the right word--but basically--I mean, the beginning of the decade you had the Huntington Cubs come up...

C: Mmhmm...

L: ...then you have the Blizzard come in, you have the Hawks, I think it was, the football team...

C: Right.

L: ...and that kinda like peaked at about mid-decade, then just--pretty much the same fashion, it just all kinda comes--everything just leaves all, not really at once, but in that kind of same downward slope. I mean, is there anything--I'm just kinda wondering, like, what factors were in there, I mean was it just Huntington's decline, or was it just the natural cycle of minor league existence...

C: That's something that is, even to this day, is frustrating to me, just because I've been involved with some of those projects, you know--I had worked at Marshall for a number of years, but I was also in on the ground floor at getting the Huntington Cubs, I worked there for the first three years of that organization. I saw the Huntington Blizzard. I was good friends with Bud Bickel, who ran the Huntington Hawks, and it seemed--it seems as if Huntington would support a minor league team for a few years, and then it's almost like flipping a switch. So it's--it was frustrating from my experiences with the Cubs to see a team do well and average over 2,000 people per game for the lowest level of minor league baseball, and then after a few years the--there's just not the committment there from Huntington, and I don't--I haven't been able to put my finger on why that would necessarily be the case.

L: It was something that confused me a little bit, because I'm thinking like on the one hand, Huntington--particularly on the jobs front--kinda declined around that time, but at the same time, there's--minor league teams, I don't have this as like a mathematical figure, but it seems like they only, on average, they'll stick around for about five years anyhow.

C: But it's--part of the frustration I experienced was why can't Huntington support a minor league baseball team when Bluefield, WV's had one for 70 years? You know, or Bristol, or Johnson City, TN--how come these towns that are much smaller than Huntington have had minor league baseball successfully for 70 years, and Huntington can't seem to keep a minor league team for more than five?

L: And the Johnstown Chiefs are still playing...

C: Right...

L: Another thing, something--as I kinda alluded to earlier, I was somewhat discombobulated in our previous interview, but I had asked what it would take to get another team successfully back here. You had mentioned that the first thing would be local ownership. I don't think I actually followed up on what it might take!

C: I think that it would take--it would definitely take local ownership and local investors. Each one of the minor league organizations, or most of the minor league organizations that we've talked about have included people who have come in from out of state. And I don't know if there's a lack of trust from Huntington consumers towards that ownership, or they feel that money that they're spending is perhaps leaving the area, but I think with local ownership there's a much better chance of succeeding. In sports, one of the things that makes teams successful is the personalities of the people who compete. And people often want to feel as if they know who the athletes are, and they feel that they can relate to them somehow. I think the same thing is true with ownership. I think if some of the most successful people in the Huntington market were able to combine their efforts, combine their investment, and bring in a minor league baseball team that had a successful stadium--for instance, if they had a shared stadium, shared baseball stadium that they shared with Marshall somewhere in the 3rd Avenue area, I think it could be, I won't say a goldmine, but it would be successful. I think they would have a very good chance to succeed. Marshall's been talking about building a baseball stadium for at least 20 years, so I don't know when that's going to happen, but for minor league baseball to succeed in Huntington there needs to be a new stadium and there needs to be local ownership. I mean, I try and think back to 1990 when I started working with the Huntington Cubs, and now that I think about how much fun that was, and how much Huntington rallied around that for a time, that it's very intriguing to think what a new stadium and what local ownership could do for a minor league baseball team in Huntington.

L: As far as the puck game--baseball, obviously, is a bit more natural to the area, baseball being baseball in general--how much more difficulty is there in that? Granted, there is that small base from when the Blizzard were still here, but...

C: I think with baseball, one of the things that made it nice in Huntington was the low cost of attending, where the cheapest ticket was $3.25. And also, it was during late June, July, and August, which were a time when no other Marshall sports were going on. So in that instance, short-season minor league baseball was a good fit. As for hockey, the thing that you would hope that you wouldn't compete--you would be competing with Marshall football and Marshall basketball with a hockey season. The thing that I have found in seeing minor league hockey--and I see this even here in Houston--is that people who are big fans of the hockey team don't necessarily cross over to other teams. There will be--if we're talking about the biggest fans, people that are fans of the Huntington Blizzard aren't necessarily the same people that are going to a Marshall basketball game or a Marshall football game. It almost seems to be a whole different section of the population.

L: That was actually something that came up in some of the earlier interviews is that they ended up getting a lot of the fanbase from outside Huntington--a lot of Ohio people, a lot of Kentucky people. One of my best friends is from Logan County, and her family would come out for Blizzard games.

C: Wow. Yeah, that's quite a committment, and what's interesting about that is Huntington--er, I mean Marshall hardly draws anything out of Ohio and Kentucky, so for people to come to see a minor league hockey game, that's a big committment in time, if nothing else.

L: Well, I've expended my mental reserve--anything else you'd like to tack on about hockey, attendance, minor league sports, anything in between?

C: Um--achoo!--sorry, I'm finishing up with the flu, I'm trying not to cough during my quotes.

L: It's quite all right, I actually had a call come in and the corresponding beeps were while you were talking, but it was in between words...

C: (laughter)

L: ...so it's quite all right.

C: No, I think you've done--I'm telling you, you've researched this well, and you've got--you talked to Hatfield and Salvatore, I'm sure that they did a nice job. When I wrote my article, I talked to Salvatore for a long time. He's pretty passionate about it, too, I bet he was an entertaining interview.

L: Oh, he was a great interview. Ernie was a great interview, I actually talked to him twice...

C: Yeah...

L: ...he was quite fun to talk to, I talked to some of the old Blizzard players, didn't actually talk to as many people as I was kinda hoping I was going to end up talking to, but at the same time I'm kinda wanting to turn this into--I'm basically wrapping up the graded project, I've spent half the time thinking about, like, how to go further from here...

C: Right, right...

L: ...do I want to do more about Huntington, do I want to do more about hockey, and, like, the general region--I had one idea to try and start writing a book about hockey in the South. It's always kinda intrigued me--being from Michigan it's always been an intriguing concept.

Interview footage: Dr. Clark Haptonstall, Part 1

I'm going shortest to longest for the sake of my sanity--that, and because I can end with the incredible honor of talking with Ernie Salvatore while beginning with my humiliating first recorded interview. I say humiliating because I realized part-way through the interview, I had not actually started recording--which means that I also did not record a wonderful roundtable discussion with former Marshall club player and WMUL Kicksave host Todd McCormick and Herald-Dispatch writer David Walsh.

I would get them re-interviewed later on, and would get a second session with Dr. Clark Haptonstall, who, as a grad student at Marshall, wrote a piece on the Huntington Hornets that ended up making its way into an issue of the West Virginia historical magazine Goldenseal in winter 1993. He would later become sports information director at Marshall; in 2003 became a professor in sports management at Rice University in Houston, and in 2005 added a Ph.D from Florida State to his title. While my frustration over having missed a significant chunk of relevant material caused me to miss Dr. Haptonstall calling Huntington "Houston", I was lucky enough to have caught the recording right before one of the more interesting finds in my research, which is where we begin...

DR. HAPTONSTALL: ...so anybody who wanted to own a minor league, or wanted to own a professional team, often the East Coast Hockey League was where they looked, because the franchise fees at the time were very low. I used to, when I was in college, this would have been about 1990, I also worked for the Huntington Cubs, which was a professional baseball team in town. And our owner was from New York, and had the idea of bringing in professional hockey to (Huntington) 'cause he thought it would just make perfect sense, that way the same staff could work year-round, you know, summer doing professional baseball, the rest of the year doing professional hockey. And he had made some exploratory calls, but what he ended up finding was the franchise fee with the East Coast Hockey League, because it had become so popular so quick, had gone from $20,000 to $100,000. And that kinda got a little bit out of--the price tag was just a little bit too high at that point, and it only went higher from there. So there was some early, early talks, in fact he went down to the Fieldhouse to try and explore that, having never been in there. And we first walked in there--I was with him--and he was like "oh my God, this building is perfect for it!" With the seats pushed back, the rink would fit perfectly in the lower level, that way there would be close to 4,000 seats up top. It would make it a tough ticket to purchase, it would make it kind of a tight atmosphere, a loud atmosphere, a historic atmosphere, but it was--the problem was, at that point, they had had a lot of problems with the pipes for making ice, so they went ahead and cemented over everything. So if you were to move into the Fieldhouse, you would have to almost start from scratch, dig a huge hole in the dirt, in the basement there, and put the pipes in fresh. Either that, or go with a temporary ice surface. But other than that, that was the only thing I had heard of, and that was--to call that a serious attempt at bringing hockey to town would be a stretch.

LENNY: So that was it, until a couple years later when the thought was to put it in the Civic Arena...

CLARK: That's right.

LENNY: ...and that ran into relatively formidable opposition, just from having to install an ice rink there that had never been there before.

CLARK: Yeah. And--I'm trying to recall now--they went with a temporary ice surface, and a lot of the discussion was, when you went into the Civic Arena at the time, was, well, who's going to pay for it, and then who's making money off of the parking, who's making money off of the concessions, and for the Civic Arena, which really was kind of a stagnant building and didn't have a lot of events in there, to have something go in where they needed all of these dates, it was something that they were certainly not accustomed to. And so there was a lot of hesitancy about bringing a team in from really an ownership group that was out of state.

LENNY: Yeah, I forget which City Council member actually went as far as to refer to it as a "scam"...

CLARK: (laughter)

LENNY: ...I don't--again, I don't have that paper with me right now in this little cubicle here...

CLARK: Nice.

LENNY: ...but that ultimately passed, and they dropped the team in for '93-'94...

CLARK: Yeah.

LENNY: I'm trying to think of where to go, particularly on this one--I just actually had a conversation with a few people on the Blizzard, touched on quite a few points on the ups and downs of it, including--one thing in particular I was wanting to touch with you on was just kinda the difficulties of keeping--of having, and maintaining, and keeping from relocating/folding up a hockey team, or a professional sports franchise in general, in Huntington...

CLARK: Mmhmm...

LENNY: ...and particularly some of the difficulties that the Blizzard had--for most of its existence it was pretty much year to year.

CLARK: Right. It's almost--and I say this as a Huntington native, very proud of my hometown, but it's really almost embarassing the fact that Huntington can't keep a minor league team of any kind. I've had some association with a few of them, one of them being the Huntington Cubs, a little bit with the Huntington Blizzard in terms of seeing them come through, but I think a lot of what has happened in (Huntington) is the people of Huntington are so used to Marshall University, and all of the connections that they have with that institution and those teams, that they have a hard time kind of engaging something new, meaning they have a hard time becoming part of a fan base for something where it's not consistent, where players come in and leave--they're here for a year, they're here for half a year, so it's as if they don't learn about the new players and the new team.

LENNY: As far as--we haven't had a hockey team in this town for quite a few years, there's been at least one attempt to drop one back in, it did not go very far of course, but what do you think it would take? I mean, what do you think are some things that would be needed for such a franchise to actually--at least last as long as the Blizzard did on a slightly less than year-to-year basis...

CLARK: Right...

LENNY: ...or a more than year-to-year basis, I guess.

CLARK: I think the first thing you would have to have for that market would be a local ownership group, where it's not looked at as if someone is invading the Huntington area and bringing a team in, but rather it's a commitment from local ownership to have a team. There's nobody from the Huntington area that is going to be good enough to play at a professional level, so it's not that you can't have--"well, at least we have a couple of Huntington kids on the team", so that's not going to be the case. But it almost needs to be someone who is committed to Huntington, someone who is committed to the area to see it through, where they have--where it's a priority to see it succeed.

LENNY: Okay... Trying to think of a follow-up on that one... I'm having a little bit of a brain hiccup, and the heaters going in the studio aren't helping me any here...

CLARK: No problem! Go ahead, take your time, go through your notes, whatever you need...

LENNY: I think--that was pretty much it, unless you had anything else you wanted to add as far as the situation and all.

CLARK: I was kinda curious, because you know I haven't lived there since the year 2000, I'm curious what you heard about--of a team coming in there since the Blizzard...

LENNY: Okay...

CLARK: ...you said it didn't go far, but I hadn't heard anything.

LENNY: Yeah, when--I've only been here since 2002. I think 2003 or 2004, one of the old Blizzard executives, Mark Edwards, who's now I believe head of marketing with the Fieldhouse, had looked into an attempt to put a team in the--at that time it was the Atlantic Coast Hockey League...

CLARK: Okay...

LENNY: in Huntington. They had teams in Knoxville and... a few of the other smaller East Coast League markets back when the Blizzard were still in town. In fact Jim Bermingham actually coaches in Knoxville now for that franchise.

CLARK: Oh, you're kidding!

LENNY: But it was--from what I had read, and I need to--eventually I was going to get around to interviewing Mark Edwards as well--no, it was Mark Williams, rather. But it basically--I guess the big stumbling block from what I had read was the lack of available, good dates in the Civic Arena...

CLARK: Yeah...

LENNY: ...and so that ended up falling apart, and I had read one bit--which I'll need to ask him about as well, where he had tried to put one into like a junior league, and that league just collapsed upon itself...

CLARK: (laughter)

LENNY: Dead due to ridiculously bad management. I was--I remember looking at bits on this league on message boards, and it seemed to be a league that only existed on message boards...

CLARK: (more laughter)

LENNY: ...from all the things I had been reading.

CLARK: Yeah. Oh gosh...

LENNY: But elsewise it's just been arena football.

CLARK: Okay. And there seems to be a lot of variation in that from what I've seen.

LENNY: Yeah, well if I remember correctly the Arena League has patented arena football, so everybody else just has to kind of tinker with it one way or another to keep from getting sued.

CLARK: (laughter) Yep...

LENNY: But elsewise, as far as what I have on here, that's all she wrote!

CLARK: Okay.

LENNY: I thank you very very much. I'd shake your hand if I could reach that far...

Yes, I called Mark Williams "Mark Edwards". If you're reading this, I deeply apologize--as was stated earlier, I was not having the best of days. I did send him an email a while back asking about that last team--the Tri-State Hurricanes, who were to play in the International Independent Hockey League, one of those glorious rec-rink-A leagues that crashed and burned heavily:

"The IIHL and the Hurricanes were brought to me by league founder Mike (can't remember last name). It was apparent after a little research that the league was not viable. I was actually looking for something to help the then operating Tri State Ice Arena. It was struggling and needed to increase revenue outside of public and private skating."

The name was Killbreath, BTW. I did talk to Williams in-studio, and that will be transcribed in due time.

Making good

Waaaaay back when I started on this, one of the things I wanted to do was put up interview transcripts and similar goodies. Unfortunately, those plans fell by the wayside--until now. Today I found the discs with the interview chunks on them, and I am FINALLY going to start transcribing those for you guys to read.

Our map

One of the towns that I figured would potentially play a role in where a prospective Huntington franchise--Evansville--will end up in the I/CHL now. Surprisingly, this is effective this season, as opposed to upon the completion of their new arena in 2011, which means for the 2010-11 season the Icemen will still play in the miniscule Swonder Ice Arena.

Evansville I always figured was a key point because it's just a 5 hour drive west on I-64 from Huntington. If you could line up Evansville, Huntington, Lexington, and Louisville, that would be a fantastic road swing--perhaps a southeast division in the USHL, a northern leg of the SPHL, or some extra meat on the CHL's new northern division (aka the old IHL).

Other cities that I think would make great travel partners with a hypothetical Huntington franchise:

• Roanoke, VA: former Southern hockey hotbed, currently host to a number of collegiate club teams since the last minor league effort, the old Roanoke Valley Vipers in the UHL
• Richmond, VA: last hosted the SPHL's Renegades; they're considering a replacement for the old Coliseum
• Dayton/Troy, OH: I include Dayton and Troy because A--both cities at different times were rivals to Huntington, B--both cities are fairly close to each other, and C--I think both cities could be available. Dayton has been shaky in the last few years, with the Bombers bombing and with the Gems struggling; meanwhile Troy seems to be the best-run franchise in Barry Soskin's NJHL
• Cincinnati, OH: while the ECHL's Cyclones play downtown in US Bank Arena, I don't think Huntington is a good fit at present for the ECHL. However, the Cincinnati Gardens are vacant, and Cincinnati was able to sustain two hockey teams (the Cyclones and the AHL's Mighty Ducks) from 1997-2004. I don't see that being too feasible unless the Gardens team is in juniors.
• Indianapolis, IN: if Huntington ends up in the USHL, they would probably--barring other expansion--be in a division with the Ice, as well as...
• Youngstown, OH: the Phantoms.
• Wheeling, WV: currently still hosting the ECHL's Nailers; there has been much mumbling over the last few years about dissatisfaction with the Brooks Brothers, who own the team, and WesBanco Arena. They're playing a few games next season in...
• Johnstown, PA: who just lost the ECHL's last original team, the Chiefs, to Greenville, SC. I see any future movement with Wheeling bringing Johnstown with them, or vice versa.
• Pikeville, KY: this is really just a pipe dream on my end, and probably a bad idea given that it would potentially suck some fans away in Eastern Kentucky and Southern WV that would otherwise go to Huntington. That said, it would be a pretty kick-ass rivalry I think. Kinda like...
• Charleston, WV: if only the Civic Center had an ice plant, or...
• South Charleston, WV: had a few thousand more seats!

Any others you guys think I missed? (And while I'm at it, what do you think of the new look?)

Reading between the lines

Wedged in the agenda for last week's City Council meeting was this little item:

1st Reading of an Ordinance re: AN ORDINANCE OF COUNCIL AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO A CONTRACT WITH ROSS, SINCLAIR & ASSOCIATES, LLC

Looking at their website, the firm of Ross, Sinclaire, and Associates specialize in municipal finance, including "programs specifically designed to aid in the purchase/lease of equipment". Remember that financial advisor Steve Williams was talking about earlier? This could be it. Second reading--and possible passage--is next meeting, on the 28th. Happy birthday to me?

Bednar keeps moving along the coaching ladder

Ex-Blizzard defenseman Jared Bednar, who had been an assistant at Abbotsford in the AHL, is now a head coach again, still in the AHL, with Peoria. You may recall his last head coaching gig ended with a Kelly Cup--here's to similar success with the Rivermen!

Maybe I was hasty about the CHL?

The CHL has merged--well more like absorbed--the IHL, creating what they call a "super-league", but in reality is about the same size as the ECHL (now if the CHL and ECHL combine, THAT would be a super-league). Fort Wayne, Bloomington, and Quad City are in, Flint and Dayton are questionable, as is Port Huron--allegedly Port Huron may end up moving into Evansville's new arena, which would make things interesting as far as our fate, since previously the USHL was the top prospect for the new arena just a little ways down I-64.

It's amazing what a trip to Home Depot will get you

While we wait on hockey, Huntington this past week added ANOTHER indoor football team. This one will be in the brand-new Ultimate Indoor Football League, run by the founders of the AIFA that the old Heroes were in; presently the league ranks include just Huntington and Johnstown, but they still have a ways to the season opener (early next year, to be precise).

This--the West Virginia Wild joke nonwithstanding--would be the third indoor football team in Huntington in a decade. Needless to say the cost factors are significantly lower in this sport than in hockey, but how much so? Former Heroes GM Chip Rossetti went into hockey after leaving the AIFA, taking the GM reins for the Evansville Icemen; he says the annual budget for indoor football and low-level-A hockey is about the same--$300,000 per season. For comparison's sake, the SPHL (high-A) strives to keep its budgets in the $1,000,000/season neighborhood.

Then there's equipment. AJ Boleski, who will be landlord (or super I guess would be more accurate) for this newest endeavor at the BSSA, puts the cost of turf at $50,000 new, boards and pads for the boards (the pads basically go over conventional hockey boards) totalling a shade under $100,000, and the goalposts--well, THIS explains everything--$400 of PVC pipe and yellow paint. Total. For both of them. No, really.

All this is dwarfed by the cost of an ice surface, not counting upkeep. Sucks to say it, but hockey is a rather expensive sport.

"Time is of the essence"

Had a productive email session with Steve Williams, head of Huntington City Council's finance committee--while the tax boondoggle continues, they are in fact working on things with the Big Sandy Superstore Arena:

The City has requested proposals for Financial Advisors to assess the Arena
project and make recommendations as to how we should structure the bond issue,
determine the revenue source to pay for the bonds issued, and identify the
appropriate governmental entity to issue the bonds.

The city must pick one of these proposals to put forward to the Finance Committee, and things get rolling from there... important thing to note is that the bonds must be taken care of by September 1.

All-Blizzard Team

I just noticed in my Blogger dashboard that I made my 100th post the other day. This calls for a celebration, and as luck would have it, I had a nice little bit of inspiration pop into my head: what would an all-time Blizzard team look like? I admittedly am a poor judge, having become interested about two years too late to be of any use; thusly I am enlisting the help of you fine fellows out there.

What's your All-Blizzard Team? 3 forwards, 2 defensemen, 1 goalie, 1 coach. Only limit is that they have played, at some point, for the Huntington Blizzard. I'm taking votes here and at the Facebook page for the rest of the month starting... now.

Some press for the Herd on Wheels

Apologies for not catching this sooner, but my old buddies at WMUL did a package on the Marshall roller hockey club (direct link!). Whoo publicity!

A killer roster move

The Facebook group had a discussion going the other day trying to find the whereabouts of a female hockey player who briefly suited up for the Blizzard. Bill Sawyers says her name was Susan Williams, and through visual identification from him and a couple other people, this is apparently what she's been up to lately. If anyone would like to chime in and confirm/deny, go right ahead. This seems too screwy to be true, but then in the world of minor league hockey I don't think anything is beyond the realm of possibility...

"Nothing, a lot of freaking nothing" --Bill S.

The budget meeting, with regard to any upgrades at the Big Sandy Superstore Arena, resolved... absolutely nothing. These budget meetings have apparently all been regarding current operating budgets--nothing to do with upgrades like the ones we're all crossing our fingers for. So the city is first going to sort out their budget, and THEN shoehorn in bond payments--a bit of a pain in the ass IMO. Word is that the braintrust has something in the cards to generate extra revenue, which hopefully could spill over into new shiny things for the Arena; if not let me put forward this idea:

*ahem*

The bond is $5.1mil, which after interest--a large chunk of which would, since these are Recovery Zone bonds, be paid back by the federal government--I estimate at something like $5.2million.

$5,200,000/20yrs=$260,000
$260,000/365=$712.33/day would need to be generated by a hotel tax.

My estimate is that there are about that many hotel rooms in Huntington city limits, but to be safe let's assume that half the rooms in Huntington will be empty on any given day. $2 would cover our expenses, and if we figure an average hotel room to be, say, $100, it would only be a 2% tax at that. We could go higher if need be. But my point is that this can be done without a whole lot of bloodletting.

A news dump post?!

Rare that I get a few different things at once to babble on, but I get just that:

• Marshall roller hockey takes on Ohio State on April 3; in the meantime, some of them will be in another Ironman tournament, this time in Fairfax, VA--they're short a player though. Interested? Fire me off an email--ViperLS1-at-aol.com--and I'll get you in touch with the right peoples!
• The Charleston Gazette had a nice write-up on the West Virginia Wild youth hockey program at South Charleston, who will be in the McCarthy Cup tournament in Newark, OH.
• The SPHL is looking at Maryland--well technically it IS the South, but an interesting reach. Certainly makes the prospect of adding teams in WV in the future a bit more palatable. (props to Section 125 for spotting that one!)
  

All I know is that we will not be the Ice Bats

I'd been meaning to put something like this up for a while, but a commenter inspired me--off the top of my head there is no way a prospective Huntington team ends up in the following leagues:

• NHL (too big)
• both CHLs (Central and Canadian (and yes, the Canadian Major Junior system has several teams in America)), and the NAHL (all too distant)
• the AAHL (too distant, too small, and too unstable anyway)
  

So who does that leave? Well let's handicap the ones I've actually heard about:

UNITED STATES HOCKEY LEAGUE

Pros: One of the closest in proximity to Huntington, with a team in Youngstown and rumored expansion in the past to Louisville and Evansville. A big plus--as evidenced by the addition of the Muskegon Lumberjacks to the league's ranks next season--is a much better business model for smaller markets than the existing minor leagues, helped along by a shorter schedule and the fact that it's a strictly amateur league--there are no salaries in the USHL. Despite this, the quality of play in the USHL has grown significantly in the last decade, with the number of NHL draftees with experience in the league now rivaling the established Major Junior leagues.

Cons: Being a junior league may turn off some, particularly those who feel that amateur hockey would provide an inferior product. In addition, while there has been recent eastward expansion, the core of the league is still in the Central Time Zone--presently half the league resides in either Iowa or Nebraska!

SOUTHERN PROFESSIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Pros: Until recently, this had a similarly favorable geographic footprint, with teams in Richmond and Winston-Salem, and Roanoke has been on the shortlist of expansion candidates. While a minor-pro league, the costs have been kept down significantly compared to other leagues, and the SPHL is seen as a model for "A" level minor league hockey. An attempt had been made to enter a predecessor league in 2003-04, with former Blizzard captain Jim Bermingham--then head coach for their team in Knoxville--acting as an ambassador of sorts between investors and the league.

Cons: Again, this had a favorable footprint; however, the league simultaneously lost Richmond and Winston-Salem and gained teams in Louisiana and Mississippi, further solidifying the southernness of the league. As it stands the closest travel partner to Huntington would be Knoxville--though this may not be as major of a problem; when the aforementioned Richmond franchise started play, the league stretched all the way down to Jacksonville!

INTERNATIONAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Pros: Geography helps somewhat in this league, in particular after they picked up Dayton this past offseason. Huntington had a team in the old IHL, of course, and while the current league is slightly farther westward than the 1950s-era IHL, the current footprint is still manageable. As I had mentioned not too long ago, at least one person had expressed interest in a Huntington franchise in the IHL, and thought I was apparently the most knowledgeable person about it--I'm flattered, really...

Cons: By all accounts the league is being propped up by the management of the Fort Wayne Komets; it has been plagued with instability going back to its days as the United Hockey League, and a rebranding and shedding of farther-flung teams (at one point the UHL had teams in suburban St. Louis, Binghamton, NY, and Asheville, NC!) has only served to put lipstick on the pig. The league has lost four markets to other leagues in the last three years (a fifth, the Quad Cities, left, then returned after a fiasco in the AHL), and their efforts in Dayton have been ridiculous at best.

EAST COAST HOCKEY LEAGUE ECHL

Pros: C'mon, you guys remember the ECHL! Much of the North Division remains the same or only moderately shifted, with Wheeling, Toledo, and (for another few weeks anyway) Johnstown bolstered by Cincinnati, Kalamazoo, Trenton, NJ, Reading, PA, and Elmira, NY. While the league has a western division stretching all the way up and down the Pacific Coast from Southern California to Alaska, there is no regular season cross-conference play, so it really doesn't factor in until the playoffs roll around.

Cons: Johnstown is leaving, and Wheeling has been rumored on the chopping block for a few years now. More significantly, though, is the fact that the ECHL has so far shown little, if any, interest in moving back to Huntington.

AMERICAN HOCKEY LEAGUE

Pros: I'm not stutter-typing, there has to my knowledge been at least one inquiry into putting an AHL franchise in little old Huntington! It would reunite the area with old ECHL rivals Hampton Roads Norfolk and Charlotte, coming into the league next season, as well as some decent road trips to Cleveland and Wilkes-Barre.

Cons: There is no way Huntington could sustain a team in the AHL. Period. If the BSSA sold out every night, the costs of maintaining this caliber of team would simply overwhelm the franchise in a 30-some-year-old 5000-seat arena with no boxes or any such revenue generating amenities.

FEDERAL HOCKEY LEAGUE

Pros: Closer than the AAHL, and they're looking at Johnstown, which suggests that they might be shooting a tick higher than mere "rec-rink A" minor league hockey.

Cons: I'm VERY wary--this is the fourth different league in pretty much the same footprint in four years, with few actual differences. They're courting Mr. Soskin as well (or is it the other way around), and they've run into trouble regarding a pilfered logo. Not a good start...

Herd Roller Hockey shows up big

Marshall's roller hockey club entered two teams in the Ohio State Ironman Tournament this weekend, and in their first competition outside the Fieldhouse, came in 4th in the Intermediate Bracket and won the Beginner Bracket outright! Way to go Herd!

Caveat hockey-tor

A fellow named Bobby Big Wheel has a nice write-up on the future of minor league hockey over at Stephen Heisler's AmericanProHockey.com webpage. A little food for thought for everyone while we wait for next month to roll in...

We have our day

Huntington City Council takes up the Big Sandy Superstore Arena's future on March 20. Yes, that's a Saturday, so for those of you that don't live five hours away, you have few excuses to drop by... unless of course we get another two feet of snow (the way this winter has been I wouldn't be surprised if it snows until April).

While we celebrate our hopes, a moment of silence...

...Johnstown is apparently set to lose the Chiefs to Greenville, SC. While I have a soft spot for Southern hockey fans--and Greenville had a good run with the Grrrowl (am I getting the number of r's correct there?)--Johnstown is the last original franchise still in its original city in the ECHL. This has potential ramifications down and across the state line in Wheeling, which for geographic and economic reasons is seemingly always paired with Johnstown when relocation/franchise fold rumors pop up...

Roller hockey!

Up the river in Portsmouth, Shawnee State University has run a club roller hockey team since 2007; they're currently in Division III of the National Collegiate Roller Hockey Association, where they've gone 13-11-3 in their two seasons at this level. With any luck they're about to pick up a down-river rival: a roller hockey club is now forming at Marshall. They've spent this season playing scrimmages, with an eye toward intercollegiate competition next fall.

For those interested, they play Monday nights @ 9 at the Fieldhouse; they have two full squads and a third looking for a goalie...

Finding more stuff on Facebook

Besides the Huntington and Roanoke groups, there is also now a group for the displaced fans of Greensboro. In the meantime, here's some bloodshed to tide you guys over!

Momentum is building

WSAZ ran a story on hockey's possible return yesterday. Meanwhile, the Facebook group--a little over three days old--is at over 200 members and growing, ranging from old-school Blizzard fans to high schoolers to even a few old Blizzard players! I'm excited, what about you guys?

More Facebooking!

We now have our own Facebook group, "Bring Hockey Back to Huntington, WV", thanks to the always awesome Bill Sawyers, who also found this bit uploaded by the WOWK Weather Center's YouTube account:

While we get buzzed about H-town, howzabout a travel buddy?

Tom over at the EHL Tribute Blog found a group--complete with Facebook page!--devoted to the return of professional hockey in Roanoke. Personally I've always wondered how the heck Roanoke's gone as long as they have without a team, for all the history in that area.

AJ: "From what I can tell, there's enough interest and buzz from the last time there was a team down here to sustain a team again"

The rest of the story, from the H-D: $5.1 million has already been approved--unanimously--by the Cabell County Commission for new seating, hockey stuff, a boiler and some concrete for the plaza out front. It's now up to City Council to figure out how to work it into the budget. This happens in March--if they can do it, we move a BIG step closer to a new team.

BULLETIN

I was starting to work on a piece hypothesizing what it would take to get Marshall a D-1 NCAA Hockey program, but that's on the backburner because Big Sandy Superstore Arena OFFICIALLY wants $5 million for upgrades. Unfortunately, this is a "print exclusive", and I'm 5 hours away from the nearest Herald-Dispatch, so if anyone could please fill in the blanks for me, I'd greatly appreciate it...

Reading tea leaves

Posted this comment regarding the status of our status farther down the page, thought it deserved its own entry:

Improvements do need to be made, and I know AJ at the BSSA wanted to have some improvements made. I don't foresee anything happening before July, however, with the municipal spending freeze taking effect earlier than usual (the new fiscal year kicks off July 1). Beyond this reading of tea leaves, however, I haven't heard of anything new...