Lease talks set to begin in Pensacola

PENSACOLA, FLA – Get ready Pensacola because the return of hockey to the city took a giant step forward Thursday morning. After hearing comments from several interested parties, the Escambia County Board of Commissioners voted unanimously to authorize negotiations for a mutually agreeable lease agreement between the Pensacola Civic Center and an ownership group headed by former NHL player and Ice Pilots owner Tim Kerr that will join the Southern Professional Hockey League. The commissioners requested that the agreement be ready for final approval by May 1. Backed by the presence of SPHL Commissioner Jim Combs, Huntsville Havoc Owner/President Keith Jeffries and SPHL Chairman/Columbus G.M. Jerome Bechard as well as numerous Ice Pilots fans and former Ice Pilots coach Todd Gordon, Allen Siskind, representing Kerr, had the task of presenting Kerr’s initial lease proposal which had been introduced in a letter from Kerr to commissioner Wilson Robertson. “There appears to be an opportunity of returning to your city with a team in the Southern Professional Hockey League,” Kerr said in the letter. “As a businessman that loves hockey and Pensacola, the timing appears to be right.” The “blind offer”, as Kerr referred to it in the letter, asks for a nightly rent of $2,000 per game, 15 percent of concession revenue, $1 per ticket sold, 1/3 of revenue from parking and the ability to sell signage advertising within the PCC. It is quite different from the last agreement between the Ice Pilots and the PCC which during the 2007-2008 season had the team paying $3,500 per game without getting any money from concessions and parking. Siskind said that Kerr, who owned the Ice Pilots from 2003-2005, is ready and willing to write a check for $1 million to cover start-up costs with the funds coming from Kerr’s PowerPlay Realty company based in New Jersey. “He knows how to put together a hockey team and he knows how to win,” Siskind said of Kerr. Combs spoke to the commissioners about the SPHL’s teams and their track record of economic and financial success. He stressed that the fundamental basis for all the teams in the SPHL is community involvement. He also touched on Mr. Kerr’s past involvement in the community which is beyond reproach – he was named Co-Sportsman of the Year in 2005 – and is a cornerstone of the SPHL’s philosophy. Representatives from SMG Management began their presentation by drawing attention to a package of pre-submitted information which contained figures on ticket sales. According to the figures, the Pensacola Civic Center lost approximately $1 million without having hockey last year and it lost $1.2 million with hockey. It also included a notation that the county would need to allocate some $247, 244 for capital projects to get the PCC into shape for hosting a team. The analysis also indicated that a team would need to average 6,798 fans per game to make the venture profitable for the building. Combs disputed the figures, noting that under the SPHL business model, a team averaging half of the SMG number given would be successful. He noted that during the years in which Kerr previously owned the Ice Pilots, the attendance records show an average of approximately 3,400 fans per game. Jeffries backed up Combs’ assertions by offering to discuss his Huntsville team’s lease with the Von Braun Center, which has been a win-win situation for both parties. The Havoc led the SPHL this past season, averaging 3,561 fans per game in a league that overall averaged 2,921 per game. Jeffries also offered to lend a hand, as did Bechard, with advice on operating a successful SPHL franchise. SMG did try to make it clear that they did not have any problems with the idea of hockey returning to the Civic Center or with Kerr. “If the county approves this motion SMG has the know how to do hockey and they can do it well,” PCC executive director Cyndee Pennington said. Gordon, who guided the Ice Pilots from 2001-2004, was so very impressed with Kerr and the Pensacola area that he remained in the city after his tenure of coaching ended. Having attended the event at New York Nick’s on Monday and the commissioners meeting on Thursday had led to speculation that he is in line for the head coach position. He agreed that a decision needs to be done as soon as possible to help generate excitement for the new franchise and hopefully significant revenues for Escambia County. Commissioner Gene Valentino, a supporter of the move to bring hockey back, said that it was the right thing to do to help Pensacola‘s economy. “For every dollar spent you get several coming back into the local economy,“ he said. “Something in the Civic Center is better than nothing. The economic consequences far outweigh any deficits.” Commissioner Robertson expressed an interest to “get this lease done immediately” and offered that the board could hold a special session prior to May 1 if an agreement can be reached sooner than later. “If it can work in Huntsville, Alabama, I would think it can work in Pensacola,” he said. Contact the author at cindy.williamson@prohockeynews.com