ECHL to 30 Teams?

JMCx4

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That is one beautiful arena! You do have to wonder how covid affects them pulling in a hockey tenant that the arena ownership has said they want to pursue.
Rumors are rumbling up that way about "hockey news" coming out this week from Coralville/Iowa City. Could just be hopeful hockey fans, or could be an announcement timed to coincide with the grand opening. Stay tuned. :popcorn:
 
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Barclay Donaldson

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Xtream Arena grand opening later this week. Looks like good place for SOMEBODY to play ice hockey ...



I remember seeing something from long time ago which says it will be the future home of the Minnesota Wild ECHL affiliate. I have not seen any news since. It still sounds like the main tenant will be the University of Iowa women's volleyball team. The University of Iowa club team does not even play at the facility.
 
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JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
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I remember seeing something from long time ago which says it will be the future home of the Minnesota Wild ECHL affiliate. I have not seen any news since. ...
Why have you been sitting on this gem? This is GREAT Silly Season fodder. With the caveat that Silly Season has been mutated by SARS-CoV-19. Nonetheless ... The Allen Americans have been the Wild ECHL affiliate for the last two seasons, and last summer their owner Jack Gulati said the team was up for sale with the hope of attracting local investors. Fast forwarding to this summer, has Gulati since expanded his search for buyers AND are Craig Leopold & his Wild co-owners still in a financial position to buy the Allen franchise for relocation to Iowa (as they did with the AHL Houston Aeros franchise in 2013)? It all makes sense if you squint really tightly & wish for SOMETHING to spice up the ECHL chat around here. :badidea:
 
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Barclay Donaldson

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Why have you been sitting on this gem? This is GREAT Silly Season fodder. With the caveat that Silly Season has been mutated by SARS-CoV-19. Nonetheless ... The Allen Americans have been the Wild ECHL affiliate for the last two seasons, and last summer their owner Jack Gulati said the team was up for sale with the hope of attracting local investors. Fast forwarding to this summer, has Gulati since expanded his search for buyers AND are Craig Leopold & his Wild co-owners still in a financial position to buy the Allen franchise for relocation to Iowa (as they did with the AHL Houston Aeros franchise in 2013)? It all makes sense if you squint really tightly & wish for SOMETHING to spice up the ECHL chat around here. :badidea:

It was shared earlier in this thread.

Future ECHL Expansion? - GAME CHANGER SPORTS NETWORK

I didn't think it was worth bringing up because the article ended in a question mark, which usually means clickbait. The article ended most of its assertions with question marks, which infers the person really has no idea what they say. The article said Elmira, Fort Worth, and Reno would be other places for expansion. That was the final damning indictment. The Sea of Tranquility is more likely to get an ECHL.
 

JMCx4

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... The article said Elmira, Fort Worth, and Reno would be other places for expansion. That was the final damning indictment. The Sea of Tranquility is more likely to get an ECHL.
So the Mare Tranquillitatis Moon Tigers could be the next entry on the ECHL's team map? Gotta get me one of their jerseys ...

CPYFLcw.jpg
 

Centrum Hockey

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Why have you been sitting on this gem? This is GREAT Silly Season fodder. With the caveat that Silly Season has been mutated by SARS-CoV-19. Nonetheless ... The Allen Americans have been the Wild ECHL affiliate for the last two seasons, and last summer their owner Jack Gulati said the team was up for sale with the hope of attracting local investors. Fast forwarding to this summer, has Gulati since expanded his search for buyers AND are Craig Leopold & his Wild co-owners still in a financial position to buy the Allen franchise for relocation to Iowa (as they did with the AHL Houston Aeros franchise in 2013)? It all makes sense if you squint really tightly & wish for SOMETHING to spice up the ECHL chat around here. :badidea:
If Craig Leopold & CO are bored over the off season buying a echl team moving it to the upper Midwest and with a wild affiliation isn't a bad way to pass the time they also would have a lot of time to find a local businessman to flip it to.
 
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JMCx4

Censorship is the Sincerest Form of Flattery
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If Craig Leopold & CO are bored over the summer buying a echl team moving to it to the upper Midwest and with a wild affiliation isn't a bad way to pass the time they also would have a lot of time to find a local businessman to flip it to.
I'd be in it for at least one weekend road trip per season, and maybe even buy a team jersey (depending on design/style & price, of course). We all do our part in this hockey world.
 
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mk80

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It was shared earlier in this thread.

Future ECHL Expansion? - GAME CHANGER SPORTS NETWORK

I didn't think it was worth bringing up because the article ended in a question mark, which usually means clickbait. The article ended most of its assertions with question marks, which infers the person really has no idea what they say. The article said Elmira, Fort Worth, and Reno would be other places for expansion. That was the final damning indictment. The Sea of Tranquility is more likely to get an ECHL.
The day Reno finally gets an ECHL we should all have a HFBoards meetup at a game to celebrate that location/rumor/ dream finally coming true. Fort Worth is interesting considering they just opened the new 10k seat Dickies Arena there which will be home to a new NLL franchise. But they do have an ice plant, the problem is I assumed that the rodeo would still be a conflict blocking out a solid portion of any hockey schedule.
 
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Barclay Donaldson

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The day Reno finally gets an ECHL we should all have a HFBoards meetup at a game to celebrate that location/rumor/ dream finally coming true. Fort Worth is interesting considering they just opened the new 10k seat Dickies Arena there which will be home to a new NLL franchise. But they do have an ice plant, the problem is I assumed that the rodeo would still be a conflict blocking out a solid portion of any hockey schedule.

The only thing less likely than a HF Boards meetup is Reno to get an ECHL team haha

Fort Worth is difficult because of the number of rival hockey options close by. Not being able to use their home facility during the one part of the season Southern teams typically attempt to maximize home attendance and dates because of the rodeo is an interesting nonstarter as well.
 
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Aero 75

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The only thing less likely than a HF Boards meetup is Reno to get an ECHL team haha

Fort Worth is difficult because of the number of rival hockey options close by. Not being able to use their home facility during the one part of the season Southern teams typically attempt to maximize home attendance and dates because of the rodeo is an interesting nonstarter as well.
The infamous "Rodeo Road Trip" was part of life for several Texas minor league hockey teams in the past. Austin Ice Bats of the defunct WPHL, as well as the San Antonio Iguanas (CHL), Dragons (IHL), & Rampage (AHL) had to deal with almost a month on the road due to the rodeo. The San Antonio Dragons (IHL) came up with a novel idea to deal with the rodeo that would seem almost cost prohibitive today. They set up a hockey rink in the Alamodome for a couple of weeks, and played several games there in 1997 & 1998. It was during this time that the San Antonio Dragons established a record for attendance for a Texas professional hockey game when 19,211 people attended a game against the Phoenix Roadrunners in Feb. 1997. That record stood until Jan. 1, 2020, when the Dallas Stars absolutely obliterated it at the 2020 Winter Classic.

If Dickies Arena in Fort Worth actually wants professional hockey, they have several options to play games at a secondary location during the rodeo, if needed. Of course, a professional team at Dickies Arena would more than likely spell doom for the well supported Ft. Worth Brahmas of the NAHL.
 

Centrum Hockey

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The infamous "Rodeo Road Trip" was part of life for several Texas minor league hockey teams in the past. Austin Ice Bats of the defunct WPHL, as well as the San Antonio Iguanas (CHL), Dragons (IHL), & Rampage (AHL) had to deal with almost a month on the road due to the rodeo. The San Antonio Dragons (IHL) came up with a novel idea to deal with the rodeo that would seem almost cost prohibitive today. They set up a hockey rink in the Alamodome for a couple of weeks, and played several games there in 1997 & 1998. It was during this time that the San Antonio Dragons established a record for attendance for a Texas professional hockey game when 19,211 people attended a game against the Phoenix Roadrunners in Feb. 1997. That record stood until Jan. 1, 2020, when the Dallas Stars absolutely obliterated it at the 2020 Winter Classic.

If Dickies Arena in Fort Worth actually wants professional hockey, they have several options to play games at a secondary location during the rodeo, if needed. Of course, a professional team at Dickies Arena would more than likely spell doom for the well supported Ft. Worth Brahmas of the NAHL.
Would there be enough of a demand for hockey in forth worth. Stars tickets are not extremely unaffordable and allen isn't that far away.
 
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mk80

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The only thing less likely than a HF Boards meetup is Reno to get an ECHL team haha

Fort Worth is difficult because of the number of rival hockey options close by. Not being able to use their home facility during the one part of the season Southern teams typically attempt to maximize home attendance and dates because of the rodeo is an interesting nonstarter as well.
Well that's certainly true, I'd give any location that ever pops up as a rumor on the boards here an edge over Reno.

Maybe there could be some work around to the rodeo for anyone calling Dickies home, it says that they plan to use and the adjacent Will Rogers complex for the Rodeo, so maybe some games could be played during that time if the rodeo also has more than one location.

Don't forget, Allen is moving to Coralville. That's ONE competitor for fans down. ;)
What about them moving across the mero-plex to Fort Worth?
 

Aero 75

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Would there be enough of a demand for hockey in forth worth the stars tickets are not extremely unaffordable and allen isn't that far away.
Dickies Arena seats 12,200 for hockey. I seriously doubt they could come close to filling it with all the competition in the area, even with the fact that Ft. Worth has always supported minor-pro hockey.
 

GindyDraws

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Dickies Arena seats 12,200 for hockey. I seriously doubt they could come close to filling it with all the competition in the area, even with the fact that Ft. Worth has always supported minor-pro hockey.

Also, arena ownership is going to be very strict on what will and won't be in that venue. They already have their team set up in the National Lacrosse League, and given that it hosts the Fort Worth Stock Show rodeo, that would mean a hockey team would have to be on the road for at least three weeks.
 

210

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Also, arena ownership is going to be very strict on what will and won't be in that venue. They already have their team set up in the National Lacrosse League, and given that it hosts the Fort Worth Stock Show rodeo, that would mean a hockey team would have to be on the road for at least three weeks.

Provided they got some prime dates before and after it's not that big of an issue.
 

210

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Fourteen hotel rooms a night, $38 a day per diem for 25 people and $1,300 a day for a bus for three weeks is a pretty big issue to an ECHL team.

Except it wouldn't be that, and not even close. KC is 550ish miles from Ft Worth, and there are three teams between those two cities. You could easily schedule three weekends worth of road games for Ft Worth and then have them in their own beds by Monday morning each weekend. And it's not like they're playing extra road games because of the rodeo, so they'd be paying expenses they'd already have to be paying anyway.
 

Yotesfan97

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It was shared earlier in this thread.

Future ECHL Expansion? - GAME CHANGER SPORTS NETWORK

I didn't think it was worth bringing up because the article ended in a question mark, which usually means clickbait. The article ended most of its assertions with question marks, which infers the person really has no idea what they say. The article said Elmira, Fort Worth, and Reno would be other places for expansion. That was the final damning indictment. The Sea of Tranquility is more likely to get an ECHL.

Why would the writer just say Future ECHL Consideration without a question mark? Isn’t future expansion based on rumors? He was right about Iowa City. He know people in Elmira close to the owner. The owner has applied multiple times for ECHL membership, but the old owners screwed him over. Reno has always been rumored and could happen with Henderson getting an AHL team and Fort Worth’s Dickie Arena just got an ice system. He didn’t say in the article these are definite and gave his reasoning. I think he knows a little bit about what he’s talking about.
 

Barclay Donaldson

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Why would the writer just say Future ECHL Consideration without a question mark? Isn’t future expansion based on rumors? He was right about Iowa City. He know people in Elmira close to the owner. The owner has applied multiple times for ECHL membership, but the old owners screwed him over. Reno has always been rumored and could happen with Henderson getting an AHL team and Fort Worth’s Dickie Arena just got an ice system. He didn’t say in the article these are definite and gave his reasoning. I think he knows a little bit about what he’s talking about.

Clickbait titles usually end in question marks. If the writer is asking the question themself, they likely don’t know the answer. Future expansion isn’t based on unsubstantiated rumors, like many of these were.

Elmira owner Robbie Nichols is happy in the Fed making money rather than fighting to break even in the ECHL. He had never applied to the ECHL, unless you have evidence to the contrary. Unsubstantiated rumor.

The writer wasn’t the first person to know about Iowa, considering Iowa publicly announced their intention to get an ECHL team multiple times. Doesn’t take a well-connected genius to put together an article saying they want a team.

Reno hasn’t been rumored in years since the attempted ownership group was put in their place because of their deceptiveness and lack of capital. Discussions stall, but Reno still hopeful for ECHL hockey team, Professional Reno Hockey Team Looks Unlikely - Arena Digest

Ft. Worth’s Dickies Arena got a temporary ice plant installed, one used for ice shows and not pro hockey.

Anyone can pick a map and throw darts at it while saying “these aren’t definite.”
 

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