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Tailing the Komets

Komets respond to Quad City

Posted in: Komets

Comments

Alan
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 10:28am

Here is what I think is going on and/or may happen.

I think the Franke's did their homework when deciding to go to the CHL. For one thing the CHL would take all five IHL teams without an expansion fee. The Franke's agreed to a two year committment because they knew that at the end of this next season at least five ECHL teams have their contracts up and their future will be up in the air.

Joining the ECHL would have cost a 1 miilion dollar entrance fee and the trademark rights of the Komets. ( Demanding the trademark rights is a little like blackmail, in my opinion. I would never do it).

The ECHL has always shown a degree of arrogance toward any other "AA" league. Unless and until they feel pressure from failing franchises, they don't have much motivation to do anything unless it is under their own terms. The fact that the ECHL extends from one coast to another is both a blessing and a curse to them. They enjoy strength in numbers but their owners also pay a heavy price in terms of travel expense. ( I believe they played this season with only three teams in one division. That will be taken care of this year with the expansion of Chicago, not to say any others that may defect to them).

An interleague schedule would make some sense for both leagues as a way of saving money and creating interest. I'm pretty sure that the ECHL would not consider it as the CHL, I think, would welcome it. If Blake is accurate with his regular season attendance numbers, and I'm sure he is, there is no way that many ECHL teams are not feeling pressure too.

So where does this leave us?

In my opinion all of us will struggle through another season absorbing the changes in league membership which will come. During the next off season we will have to wait and see what becomes of some ECHL franchises. If enough fail there may be some meaningful discussions of a merged "AA" hockey world. If not, then some hard decisions wil have to be made.

I just wonder how bad this will get before the leagues are forced to work together.

I see a lot of possibilities out there. The one that frightens me the most is that everybody gets so arrogant and stubborn, that common sense is abandoned and "AA" hockey will go dormant as a whole. Don't think that it can't happen.

Maybe everything has to crash before constructive steps are taken.

BlueLineBaby
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 3:09pm

Interleague play? Genius, Alan. Sort of testing the waters. Then it would not be too hard to just flat out merge the leagues, like will eventually happen anyway. That's brilliant! With, of course, the added bonus for us fans that we get to see for ourselves any actually differences in the leagues in speed, skill, etc. That would totally rock.

BlueLineBaby
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 4:03pm

And I have a question: Blake, would the Komets seriously have to give up the logo if they went to the ECHL, or is that just a rumor? It's been talked about but no one has officially conformed or denied that for us. Thanks!

zanderson84
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 4:15pm

Is it just me...or is the million dollar expansion fee nothing more than a deterrent to those crappy owners that are causing the problems now in the CHL as well as the IHL/UHL. If you are serious about owning a hockey team, and have the resources to do so, then the million dollar fee is an acceptable cost. But if I am a pizza buffet guy that is a hockey fan, there's no way I plop a million dollars down for a hockey team.

This is why I see the ECHL as the most feasible of the AA/A leagues.

Silly Season
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 5:19pm

The Peoria Rivermen (ECHL to AHL), The Columbus Cottonmouths (CHL to ECHL to SPHL) and just 1 year ago The Charlotte Checkers (ECHL to AHL) all kept their name and logo.

Hit Somebody!!!
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 5:36pm

Anyone notice how the some will never comes out and just say....

Yes, the CHL is a freaking mess. And something needs to give or else.

It always is but.....but.....but......but.....if we went to the ECHL you would complain about that too.

Or if we went to the AHL prices would go so high no one would pay.

Or if we went to the ECHL you would never know the players.

Or if we went to the XYZHL it might upset your stomach.

All excuses generated and re-hashed.

I just don't understand why some won't call a spade a spade and have to always fight against the alternative idea with lots of generated and canned responses and excuses.

Not the end of the world but it is interesting.

If I have learned one thing. It is that the Frankes obviously want nothing to do with the ECHL or the AHL....PERIOD. I don't think that will change as the excuses and responses will forever block any real discussion of what might actually be smart, might actually work, or might actually be stable.

Before I hear the Minor Sports speech about everything is unstable and no one is ever happy...

Tell me what we can do to fix things and make it better, rather than throwing in fans faces the canned responses and one sided thinking.

I know at the end of the day......Your money.....Your decision.

I get that.

But will Komet fans always buy it?

We'll see.

Hit Somebody!!!
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 5:41pm

I guess my novel will go on deaf ears since no one important reads the blogs....

Why is it that our announcer comments scripted repsonses about Idiot Bloggers if no one reads this thing?

LMAO.....you know?

I guess my point after my long winded speech there.....

It takes more than just the ECHL to negotiate what makes the most sense in minor hockey. it takes all of minor hockey for that dialogue.

Are we yet to a point where the dialogue is truly on the table from all sides?

Komet organization included?

For the sake of all of us....I hope so.

Good evening to you fine folks.

Blake Sebring
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 5:48pm

That has been the practice in the past, BLB, but I don't know for sure if it still exists because no one will talk about it. Each league has different rules, and they have gotten stricter or lessened over the past couple of seasons. Whenever you leave a league, there are strict guidelines like penalty fees and such to discourage you or make it harder for you to leave. At one time the late-90s IHL tried to get teams to sign over their logos, names and even lease agreements to the league as a way to force their way on some issues. I have heard several times over the years that the ECHL has similar statutes, but I do not know if they are exactly the same. Often what happens is when a team folds, they also disband the corportation and start a new one -- after selling the name and colors and such to the new corporation. When Frankes left the IHL they folded the corportation that previously owned the Komets and started a new one.

Teams at the AA level have annual budgets of around $3-5 million and it's obvious how many are struggling to break even, so yes an extra $1 million is not just sitting around for most owners. Could be one reason why there are so few people willing to jump in with expansion teams as well, hence the tremendous drop over the last 10 years.

Look at this way: When the Frankes and the Komets left the old IHL in 1999, they tried like crazy to get with some of the wealthiest people in Fort Wayne to sell them part of the team so they could remain in the IHL. None of them showed even the slightest interest because they knew it would not make sound financial sense. I have actually spoken to a couple of those people over the years, people who were active fans even, and they just wished the Frankes well and said it didn't seem like a good enough investment to them because of the way minor league sports goes. I know some of them actually advised the Frankes to drop down to the AA level.

It's a unique business.

Blake Sebring
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 6:15pm

One reason, Hit, is because you (meaning some of you in general) always want the next league, the next big player, the next uniform. Whatever is right here, right now, whenever that is, is never good enough for you. You always covet something else. That's part of being a fan, but you never seem to be satisfied with anything. It's always the next big thing will be SOOOO much better. Well, you know what, sometimes it's just the same problems in a different package. Players are all at this level for a reason, no matter what league they are in or what team they are on. They are all AA-level players. Same with cities, and believe it or not Fort Wayne is an AA-level city right now in this economy.

There is no perfect answer to all of this, and sometimes just jumping to the next thing doesn't change anything. It just avoids facing the problems that will still be there and costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, if not millions to try something new. The Frankes can't afford that. They can't afford to make a big mistake on something that may not be any better. Minor league hockey at all levels right now is screwed up and jumping to another league is not going to make it any better.

You know what I would do if I were the Frankes? I'd sell this team in a heartbeat -- if I could get a decent price for it. It would be better for their health, probably their families, too. I don't think they could get a fair price right now. If you really think there are these great people out there who'd be willing to come in and plop down $5-$6 million for the Komets, you're fooling yourself. Because they couldn't make enough money in this community to pay the costs where they could make any money.

Can anybody conceive how much money Kalamazoo is going to lose flying to Alaska for these finals? How much money the Wings have to have lost drawing 2,000 fans to playoff games? Or how much money ECHL teams have lost playing playoff games on Tuesdays and Wednesdays? That's not just a marketing issue.

This is a minor league hockey problem all over.

Hit Somebody!!!
Fri, 05/13/2011 - 7:43pm

Are you saying that we are getting another new jersey this next season?

AWESOME!!!

LOL.

I don't disagree with what you say.

I guess I wish things could be a bit more stable and alot less crap with the way these leagues are so dang nuts.

What seems so simple to some of us might not be simple at all I guess. It just seems that the original idea of the IHL2 where we had a plan in place where it was a Bus League with teams working together to help the overall health of the league was too good to be true. As we now know, lots of things went really wrong. Some bad owners, and a really bad dose of Economy.

The IHL2 was a great idea. I never will doubt that.

I just wish the same sort of plan, maybe tweaked and revamped with some other key player involved other than just Fort Wayne running the show.....well, that would be my best idea for fixing some of these problems.

Playing Arizona, Any Texas Team, Colorado, etc........Alaska....LOL.......Insane.

Gotta find a way to get the Midwest back in order and back in play.......and the reason most of us clamor for ECHL, is because it has the best shot at some midwestern flavor. It is probably not perfect, we all know this.

Don't get me wrong Blake. I want the best for the Komets and hockey in this town and in this region.

I just wish there was a better solution, and that is where my personal frustration is with this whole thing.

I will always buy my season tickets at the end of the day, I won't ever threaten that aspect of my fandom. Because I love the Komets and hockey....and because I like to support the local team.

Hope that makes some sense...???

mightbite
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 3:37am

I want the next big player=6' 5" 240lbs ,10 to 15 goals & 300 + PIM :)

mightbite
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 4:19am

http://xfinity.comcast.net/articles/sports-nhl/20110514/20110513231954064683608/
sad news.

JR1
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 4:38am

Ummmm... Just a year or two ago the budget for an AA minor league hockey team was 2-2.5 million (as discussed here...) and now its 3-5 million??? Aaaahhh ok???

A year or two ago, I remember someone telling us that the 2 main reasons the Komets have now joined the ECHL were the million dollar expansion fee and losing the logo/franchising rights.... Now we're not sure if there actually are those statutes??? ok????

I would have no problem with the excuses, if they stayed the same; but everytime somebody does some research and comes back with good questions or new facts, the excuses get tweeked a little or changed outright... Thats what gets fans going on these blogs/message boards...the run-around... Let's coin a new phrase...'Excuse Mongering'

The fact of the matter is, the Frankes probably know the best fit for them of any league geographically right now is the ECHL... This just reminds of a kids staring contest between the Frankes and the ECHL or a poker game where both players are holding a pair of 5's and they are both bluffing to make the other believe their holding ace's.... In the last week one of the Frankes stated they hadnt spoken to anyone in the ECHL for over a year. I would be willing to wager money that it was a merger talk that went sour and the K's turned to the only other AA league in the CHL (since the IHL2 needed life support)...

I also think I read somewhere that anyone traveling in the ECHL to Alaska got help from either the league or the Ace's themselves.

mightbite
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 5:23am

Fort Wayne
Evansville
Dayton
Kalamazoo
Toledo
Cincinnati
Blomington
Chicago

mightbite
Sat, 05/14/2011 - 5:29am

this blog is on central time?????
this is my mid-west league add a few if you want.
NHL playoffs, Boston & Vancouver

Blake Sebring
Sun, 05/15/2011 - 2:53pm

http://www.daytondailynews.com/dayton-sports/hockey/crazy-time-for-gems-as-chl-teams-make-changes-1160877.html

BlueLineBaby
Sun, 05/15/2011 - 6:03pm

Crazy time of year for the Gems, maybe....there's only been a few posts on here over the weekend. I'm bored to death! ;)

Mr. Snufflupugus
Mon, 05/16/2011 - 2:51pm

AHL may be putting a team in Thunder Bay....

mightbite
Mon, 05/16/2011 - 4:40pm

PC Drouin to return next year.

Hit Somebody!!!
Mon, 05/16/2011 - 8:45pm

I think the article out of Dayton is what we have been trying to relay to the fine reader's of this blog, well, for the past month.

If you read that article, it impresses me that there is no guarantee in Dayton. I think it was pretty clear Mr. Greene's point about travel and gas prices could wipe out Dayton's future in the CHL without more than just FW, Evansville, and Bloomy. They need Quad City, and they don't need Texas, Rapid City, Missouri, etc.

This is where this CHL will fail in the long run....counting on markets like Dayton, or Bloomington for instance, to "hang on" so the other teams have someone to play. And when I say "Hang On"....I mean drawing less than 2,500 a game and losing a butt-load of cash having to cover multiple expenses, not to mention insane travel costs.

I know this isn't a big shock to anyone. I know this is life in Minor Sports.

But like I had said a few posts ago......

It isn't Summer Yet.....Let's not dance the Boogaloo that Dayton is coming back just yet.....

It is too early to tell.....Anything is possible at this point.....Nothing would surprise me.

Wonder what is happening in Flint Huron right about now??? Anyone have any idea if a franchise is on the burner in that neck of the woods.....???

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