DAYTON, Ohio – The International and Central Hockey Leagues announced plans yesterday to form a “AA” level super league beginning in the 2010-11 season. The Central Hockey League name will be utilized, with the IHL brand retained in certain aspects that will be announced in the near future.
The IHL currently has teams in Dayton, Ft. Wayne, Port Huron, Bloomington and Quad Cities. Port Huron has not yet committed to the new CHL and Flint is working on securing new ownership. Evansville is scheduled to begin play in the 2011-12 season when their new arena is completed.
The CHL is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Global Entertainment Corporation, a company engaged in sports management, multi purpose events and entertainment centers and related real estate development, facility and venue management and marketing and venue ticketing.
The IHL and CHL have several differences that will be addressed prior to next season. The structure and operating guidelines of the new league will be ironed out during league meetings being held throughout the month of June
For Dayton Gems players and fans, travel time will be farther should the team play outside the existing IHL division. The nearest CHL team is the Mississippi RiverKings, about 554 miles away. This would equate to a nearly nine hour bus ride for the team.
Average attendance comparisons for both leagues during the 2009-10 season showed near parity, with CHL teams averaging 3,800 fans per game and the IHL 3,185 according to pointstreak.com. Arena Capacity for both leagues are similiar as eleven teams in the CHL have capacities between 2,000 and 8,000. 4 out of 6 teams in the IHL fit the same description. Ft. Wayne and Quad City have the largest capacities at 10,480 and 12,000 respectfully.
Looking at the current markets in the CHL, most are located in mid-size cities like Dayton, Ohio which makes this league the better fit for the Gems in the upcoming season. The CHL is interested in expanding into more markets. Hopefully, more cities near the current IHL division will see promise with this new super league. In any case, the 2010-11 season promises to be extremely exciting for the Gems organization, fans and players.
Gems fans should receive additional information regarding division alignments and scheduling in the near future.
Contact the author at chris.smith@prohockeynews.com
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