CHARLESTON, SC – The Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) opens its 5th season on October 24thand in the words of Commissioner Jim Combs the league is once again “looking forward to bringing exciting affordable family entertainment and Single A level ice hockey to our fans across the southeastern United States.” Returning franchises are the Richmond (VA) Renegades, Huntsville (AL) Havoc, Knoxville (TN) Ice Bears, Columbus (GA) Cottonmouths and the Twin Cities (Winston-Salem NC) Cyclones.
The Jacksonville Florida Barracuda’s franchise owners requested and obtained a franchise suspension for the 2008-2009 season while looking for a suitable arena in the Jacksonville area. The good news is that contacts within the SPHL and the Jacksonville hockey community indicate that the Jacksonville club is actively seeking to return next year and importantly, has managed its financial obligations and community relationships in such a way that reactivation of the franchise will be welcomed by city officials, suppliers and of course Jacksonville hockey fans.
While franchise changes and relocations are common in all minor league sports, the SPHL with origins in three defunct leagues, the Atlantic Coast Hockey League, the Southeast Hockey League and the World Hockey Association 2, has achieved relative stability in the five years since it commenced operations in 2003. The keys to the SPHL’s success to date in the tough minor league market emerges in discussions with league officials and other long-term hockey pro-hockey observers:
First, the league’s Board of Governors and team executives operate on a conceptual basis-the good of the whole league is more important than the good of the individual franchise. This creates a spirit of partnership supported by team owners, executives and coaches that commits each team to making and supporting decisions based first of all on the overall good of the SPHL and then secondly on what is good for their individual teams. The development of agreements that cover all franchises with Sher-wood Hockey and more recently with Itech Visors and the broadband broadcaster B-2 Networks are reflective of this league-wide cooperation.
Secondly, the league has adopted and rigidly uses a strong business model with controls that helps keep league and team expenses within prudent budget frameworks. For example, the league has a strong commitment to maintaining a tight geographic footprint for the SPHL that helps keeps travel costs manageable. Thus, expected future expansion when it comes will be within a tight geographic area that comports with the league’s business model.
Thirdly, the SPHL has reached out to establish partnerships within the hockey community that helps define and ensure recognition of the SPHL’s fit into the unofficial minor league classification system. The league remains the only long-term Single “A” Hockey” League in operation. Maintaining working relationships with both the ECHL and the CHL is an important element of the SPHL’s identity as a development league for players, on-ice officials and hockey administrators. One example of the use of partnerships is the league’s decision is to assign all of its on-ice officials from USA Hockey’s National Officials Development Program for all of its games. USA Hockey is the sanctioning body for all amateur hockey in the US. This program serves as a major feeder for the pro leagues recruitment of on-ice officials.
Minor league hockey continues to thrive and the SPHL appears to have a solid foundation as it opens the 2008-2009 season. Fans of the teams in the smaller markets who live for hockey season’s first faceoff s are excited and hopeful that even in the current tough economic times that Friday and Saturday nights will always mean “Let’s Play Hockey.”
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