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...