Two things strike me about this. It shows how badly these buildings need tenants, especially publicly owned buildings, and $500,000 for 50 percent of an ECHL team? Are you kidding me?
Want an easy way to tell if a team is in trouble? Multiply their total attendance by $10 which it a little less or a little more the average each team's income for an average ticket. The average Class AA minor league budget is between $2.5 million and $3.5-$4 million. Figure $500,000 for marketing/advertising income. Now you can really see how many teams are struggling.
The way this all works, teams sign licensing agreements with their leagues, and when those agreements are up, that's when it's easiest for them to change leagues. That's what happened in Victoria (AHL), Odessa and Colorado in the CHL. The IHL teams do not have licensing agreements which is parr of the reason why this is a two-year deal with the CHL.
A bunch of teams throughout all leagues have their agreements finish up after next season. If a major restructuring is ever going to happen, that's when it will be. There are also a bunch of teams in every league for sale with no buyers.
Also, Rapid City isn't going anywhere, and there won't be any new CHL expansion teams next year. Looks like 12-14 teams next season.
