JACKSONVILLE, Fla – If everything goes as planned, the ECHL will have an expansion team in Orlando for the 2012-2013 season, to play in the Amway Center, the home of the NBA Orlando Magic.
I must admit that I am glad to know that it is coming. After the SPHL Jacksonville Barracudas closed up shop a few years ago, hockey for me has been a bit of a drive. Closest team, right now, is four hours away which is not a drive you should make too often. The drive to Orlando will be nicer, if only for the weekend. Trust me, I’ve driven in Orlando rush hour traffic. I’ll stay away from that during the week, thank you very much. While the selfish part in me is glad to see all the cards falling in the right way, there are three other groups that will benefit also.
1. Long time Orlando hockey fans
I feel good for the long time Orlando fans, the ones that have old Orlando Solar Bear jerseys hanging in their closest. The Solar Bears were part of the IHL from 1995 to 2001. The team even won a Turner Cup title in their last year of existence. Matter of fact, old Solar Bear fans might think they are back in the IHL. Old IHL cities that have now, or will have, ECHL next season include San Francisco (the Bulls starting in 2012 also), Las Vegas (Thunder then, Wranglers now), and the Utah Grizzlies in the western conference.
However, given the current format of the ECHL, seeing those teams in Florida might be about as common a sighting as Halley’s Comet. A better chance would be the old IHL cities in the eastern conference. Chicago (then the Wolves, now the Express), Kalamazoo (Michigan K-Wings then), Gwinnett (Atlanta Knights then, Gladiators now) and the Cincinnati Cyclones. The comfort factor of seeing old IHL cities will be like a warm beagle to many Orlando fans.
2. The ECHL
Have you look at a map of ECHL cities lately? No problem, I’ll give you a minute……………….. OK, see how spread out it is. The ECHL is currently separate into three distinct areas. The Rocky Mountain/Pacific area, which, as it stands right now, will have nine teams in 2012-13. The southern region, which will, with the addition of Orlando, will have five and the Atlantic/Midwest region, which will have eight. Adding teams to the southern region can do nothing but help fortify the other southern teams. In this day of financial instability, that can’t be overstated enough.
3. The Florida Everblades
When the Pensacola Ice Pilots close up shop after the 2008 season, it cut down the number of ECHL teams in Florida to one, the Fort Myers/Estero based Florida Everblades. Of course, that might be a misnomer, since Pensacola is about as close to Fort Myers as Charleston or Atlanta. Actually it is about 30 minutes (according to Mapquest) but, after 9 hours on the road, who is going to argue about an extra 30 minutes. In fact, the only so-called close rivals to the Everblades were the Jacksonville Lizard Kings (disbanded in 2000) or the long forgotten ECHL Miami Matadors (1999). Having a close rival like a team in Orlando will save the Everblades a lot of money. Less long road trips, not only to Georgia and South Carolina but the number of road trips to states like Pennsylvania and Ohio are cut down to maybe one or two a year. Also, it can, in the long run, help the gate. Generally, when a team visits the Everblades, they play a two game set, Friday and Saturday night. One of those numbers will draw less at the gate because some fans are not as likely to go see the same team two consecutive nights, if they don’t have season tickets. A team like the Trenton Titans can come down to Florida, play a Friday night game in Orlando and a Saturday nighter in Estero. Flip that to a team like Toledo, who would play Friday in Estero and Saturday in Orlando. It just helps the gate long term to have a little more variety.
Lastly, just from an economic standpoint for the team, there have been two teams based in the greater Orlando area, the Solar Bears and Seals. I would not use the nickname or either team for my new name. A start-up minor league team has to find a way to make money any way they can and, if you call them the Solar Bears, that won’t happen as much. Even though the team would probably use a new logo, a lot of people would use their old Solar Bears jersey and clothing. Using a new nickname will get fans to buy new jerseys, new novelties, new everything. There is an old saying that, if you want to make money, don’t own a minor league hockey team. However, you should give them every advantage possible.
Kenneth.Holdren@prohockeynews.com
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