Cincinnati

[Double-Shift Lasse]

Pro hockey has been around Cincinnati since 1949. It's not going to suddenly take off-I wish it would, but it's not. When I played a million years ago, the Cincinnati Youth Hockey Association numbered 1500 or so players. It's less than 500 now.

The CBJ organization made a brilliant strategic move with their "Chiller" rinks. Those rinks were the linchpin to the development of Columbus amateur hockey. That was attempted in Cincinnati in the mid 1990s, but it was with a minor league organization (another incarnation of the Cincinnati Cyclones) and never on the scale of what the CBJ did.

The CBJ were able to take their major league status and lack of professional major league sports competiton and start some very successful programs which has made hockey a major part of the Columbus sports culture. The WHA Stingers were major league and were making some good strides in promoting youth hockey, but when they opted out of going to the NHL in 1979, those efforts ceased.

There were 8 indoor sheets of ice in the late 70s and that number is now 5.

The window for making hockey a major sport in the Cincinnati area has unfortunately closed. I'd like to be wrong on this, but I'm pretty sure that I'm not.

In fairness, the ECHL Chill started the Chillers. Note resemblance in name.

The Jackets, being major league and offering an infusion of interest and, likely, cash, certainly built on the foundation, but it was laid by the Chill.

And no, I am not Craig Merz or David Paitson.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

In fairness, the ECHL Chill started the Chillers. Note resemblance in name.

The Jackets, being major league and offering an infusion of interest and, likely, cash, certainly built on the foundation, but it was laid by the Chill.

And no, I am not Craig Merz or David Paitson.

My bad. I knew that. I read a great book on the Chill-which may have been written by Paitson-and the similarity of names.

The principle of how the area's youth hockey programs were grown was correct. The devil's always in the damn details

 

[Speedy Sanderson]

There were 7 indoor sheets of ice in the late 70s and that number is now 5. No new rinks have been built since the mid 90s. The remaining rinks-save for US Bank Arena-are in various states of disrepair.

Two of those sheets are at SportsPlus - that place could definitely use some TLC. My son plays there from time to time and while it's not the worst, it leaves a lot to be desired, especially the locker rooms. We haven't played at the three other sheets at Northland, Winter Club or Northern Kentucky. Goggin Ice Arena is pretty impressive, and I'd count Oxford as being in Cincinnati's metro.

What's amazing is that for many years, youth hockey had a better foothold in Cincinnati than Columbus. That changed starting in the 90's and now youth hockey has exploded in central Ohio with 4,500 youth hockey players, and 11 sheets of ice (counting OSU and Newark which are non-Chiller rinks). Never thought I'd see those numbers.

 

[Double-Shift Lasse]

My bad. I knew that. I read a great book on the Chill-which may have been written by Paitson-and the similarity of names.

The principle of how the area's youth hockey programs were grown was correct. The devil's always in the damn details

It's not on topic, and it's definitely in the details. But if there's credit being offered and I know to whom it should be...

Well, anyway. Otherwise, I don't have much in the way of thoughts about this thread.

 

[Cyclones Rock]

Two of those sheets are at SportsPlus - that place could definitely use some TLC. My son plays there from time to time and while it's not the worst, it leaves a lot to be desired, especially the locker rooms. We haven't played at the three other sheets at Northland, Winter Club or Northern Kentucky. Goggin Ice Arena is pretty impressive, and I'd count Oxford as being in Cincinnati's metro.

What's amazing is that for many years, youth hockey had a better foothold in Cincinnati than Columbus. That changed starting in the 90's and now youth hockey has exploded in central Ohio with 4,500 youth hockey players, and 11 sheets of ice (counting OSU and Newark which are non-Chiller rinks). Never thought I'd see those numbers.

I always forget about the Winter Club. I was in it a couple times when a former Cyclones coach had a hockey camp there. In very good shape.

I also forgot about the old Hamilton OH semi outdoor rink which has been closed for at least 10 years.

Losing the 2 sheets when the Cincinnati Gardens closed a few years ago was a big blow to amateur hockey and figure skating in the area.

The Northern Kentucky Ice Center should be bombed. It's horrible in every conceivable way Northland looks the exact same as it did in 1971. Goggin is very nice, but I'd consider it outside the area. Sports Plus was the minor league Cyclones owner's foray into the ice rink venture and it could definitely use, at the very least, some cosmetic upgrades.

Had the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA entered the NHL back in 1979, then I think hockey would have had a similar development curve to the Columbus area, but they didn't. Having a major league franchise in the area is a big key to development of the youth hockey programs in an area. Hell, Seth Jones played in Dallas until he was 16 as did Auston Matthews in Phoenix.

Good luck to your son in hockey!

 

[Viqsi]

Had the Cincinnati Stingers of the WHA entered the NHL back in 1979, then I think hockey would have had a similar development curve to the Columbus area

I'd always gotten the impression that they wanted to join, but were paid to disband instead, much like Birmingham. It's admittedly not an area of history I'm fully conversant on, tho (in my partial defense, I didn't exist until about a year after they ceased to ).

 

[Cyclones Rock]

I'd always gotten the impression that they wanted to join, but were paid to disband instead, much like Birmingham. It's admittedly not an area of history I'm fully conversant on, tho (in my partial defense, I didn't exist until about a year after they ceased to ).

I think that by 1978-79, the owners had pretty much decided to call it a day in the hockey business. After the Stingers third year of operation (77-78) they had a season ticket drive that required the team to get 5,000 full season ticket equivalents or The Stingers would not play in 78-79. They made the number on the final day of the drive. **I convinced my dad to buy 2 half season tickets. 10 rows up from behind the goal. No nets in those days. We called it the "decapitation level"**

The owners took $3.15 million to fold the team in 1979. I have heard that this figure basically covered their aggregate losses on the team.

Had the merger/expansion between the WHA and NHL taken place a year earlier, the Stingers would have been on board. The vote for that expansion failed by one NHL owner's vote. From what I have read, Jacobs, the governor for Boston, was swayed to vote "no" by William Wirtz, the owner/governor of the Chicago Blackhawks, who was still bitter over the loss of Bobby Hull to the upstart WHA in 1972. Jacobs was still bitter over the loss of Derek Sanderson, Gerry Cheevers and Johnny McKenzie. Jacobs voted "yes" the following year.

My feeling is that the Stingers would have gone the same route as Hartford, Quebec and the original Winnipeg Jets. The market was too small to support 3 major league teams and I think that the Stingers would have moved even if the NHL had approved the merger a year earlier and been admitted to the NHL. Columbus fans are very lucky the Stingers didn't go to the NHL or it's highly doubtful that the CBJ would exist.

One of the owners of the Stingers was Bill DeWitt. DeWitt is now an owner and managing partner and chairman of the St. Louis Cardinals. He made a wise decision on which way to go in his sports ownership interests.

 

[Doggy]

Swap out "Cyclones" with "Chill" and you have pro hockey in Columbus at the end of the last millennium. Which gives me hope that there's something to be tapped...

* * *​

Option #1 would not have helped, but option #2 would have outright killed any hope of success here - and, indeed, I doubt the team would have had any chance of existence otherwise. Columbus in general is deeply resentful of particular attention constantly going to Cincinnati and Cleveland while getting pretty much ignored itself in any capacity outside of "an unusually large college town" - especially after taking the #2 in size spot from Cincy fair and square. Mr. Mac made a point of wanting a team for Columbus; that's a not insignificant part of why he was so loved. Heck, you can see some of that dynamic in action here on this board when folks gripe about OSU.

Cleveland can have "Ohio Blue Jackets" if Columbus gets in return "Ohio Cavaliers", "Ohio Browns", and/or "Ohio Indians" (or whatever else that team's name may eventually get changed to).

Viqsi, I am not giving you my opinion. This is the feedback I’ve gotten from a lot of diehard sports fans in NE Ohio. I am not suggesting there is a solution (outside of some consistent success). It is what it is.

 

[Viqsi]

Viqsi, I am not giving you my opinion. This is the feedback I’ve gotten from a lot of diehard sports fans in NE Ohio. I am not suggesting there is a solution (outside of some consistent success). It is what it is.

Apologies if that came across as accusatory, as it wasn't meant to be. I'm just pointing out that that concept would have doomed the team, independent of whether you believed in it or not.