The IHL announced today that the Chicago Hounds are not coming back next season as hoped. The Hounds had been negotiating with the Sears Centre at Hoffman Estates but was unable to come to terms acceptable to both sides.
I'm not sure this is a bad thing. The Hounds will still be back, but it will be in two years at another location. That will give them time to do things correctly as far as preparation, setting up a new business, selling tickets, etc. From everything I'm hearing, Hounds owner Craig Drecktrah has an outstanding business plan and still has high hopes for the future.
Not playing in the Sears Centre again is a positive because I don't think any team can make money there, figuring out a schedule for seven teams instead of six would have been very difficult and the Hounds will be able to hit the ground running in two years. Despite this setback, I still think Drecktrah is a very important part of the IHL's future.
