JACKSONVILLE, FLA – With a history dating back to the 1960’s, the city of Jacksonville earned its spot as one of the pillars upon which hockey in the South was built. When the Jacksonville Barracudas ceased operations in 2008, fans were left wondering whether they would see live hockey in the city ever again.
Wonder no more hockey fans of Jacksonville, the Jacksonville IceMen are coming.
Wednesday morning, a press conference was held at the Jacksonville Veterans Memorial Arena to announce that the IceMen will begin play in October in the ECHL, the premiere double-A developmental league for the NHL. It will mark the return of Jacksonville to the ECHL – the Lizard Kings played in the league from 1995-2000.
“We were here a long time ago. I think the two or three things that are different from when the ECHL was here before,” ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna said. “We’ve got committed, experienced ownership in place at this point. Secondly, I think the market has grown and evolved over the period of time where they’ve gone without hockey. Third, this facility wasn’t here when the ECHL was in the marketplace before. Our fans I think across the league expect all the amenities and great entertainment on the ice and all the events that surround it as well. By having this facility, I think we’re now able to present that so that makes us excited to be back in Jacksonville.”
The man responsible for bringing professional hockey back to the First Coast is Bob Ohrablo. A long time hockey man, Ohrablo was part of the group that brought the Orlando Solar Bears out of hibernation and into the ECHL in 2012. He now has his sights on making the IceMen a permanent fixture in the sports landscape of Jacksonville.
It took a couple of years but the vision he put forth came into plain view on Wednesday.
“I wanted to make sure I had the right people in the investment group and we did it the right way,” Ohrablo said. “I’ve known Ron [Geary, owner of the Evansville IceMen and now co-owner of the Jacksonville team] for six years now. I love the things he did with the IceMen in Evansville and when he mentioned to me that he would like to join up [with] my efforts to bring hockey to Jacksonville, I was ecstatic.”
Unable to reach an agreement on a lease extension in Evansville, took his franchise to nearby Owensboro, Kentucky where his plans to settle there again fell through, leaving his team without a home. He and Ohrablo connected and decided that relocating the IceMen to Jacksonville would be a win-win proposition for everyone.
“This is an incredible market that we’ve stumbled upon. Teaming up with Bob Ohrablo and all the work that he’s done over the last two years in Jacksonville, this is a wonderful opportunity for the community as well as hockey,” Geary said. “I loved what we did with hockey in Evansville. We ended up at an impasse on extending our five-year lease which was very disappointing to me personally. Like in any sport or in business or in life, you’ve got to persevere and you have find a way to make it a win. I think coming to Jacksonville is probably the best location we could find if we can’t go back to where we got started.”
One of the biggest problems surrounding the demise of the Barracudas was the lack of a true partnership between the team, the city and SMG, the building operator. In the time since, attitudes changed to the point where everyone worked together to come up with a lease that was fair to all parties.
“It’s all different people [in charge since 2008]. We were helped tremendously by the fact that Zane Collins was here. Zane had worked with SMG in Reading where they were part owners of the Royals,” Ohrablo said. “He understood completely what we needed. Dave Herrell from the city [Sports and Entertainment office] has been great from day one. At first he thought I might have been a little bit crazy trying to bring hockey to Jacksonville but then he realized that there are a lot of people that have moved here since the Barracudas left that have hockey roots. Our investor Frank [Ruperto] is one of them. There really wasn’t any challenge, it was just working out something that we could live with and they could live with as well. It all came together pretty quickly especially when Mayor Lenny Curry took office and his people really wanted this to happen.”
Herrell said that from the city’s perspective, being able to add hockey to the mix of offerings is right in line with the direction the city is moving in.
“The sports and entertainment landscape is continuing to evolve. I think Jacksonville has a tremendous amount of momentum right now,” Herrell said. “You’re seeing a lot of economic development happening. You’ve got new faces and businesses that are coming into the market and the region. I think that as Jacksonville grows, certainly the offerings we can provide the community are going to grow and I think hockey coming back to Jacksonville is something that we are truly excited about.”
Another important piece of the puzzle is the advisory group that was set up. The group consists of business and civic leaders who are committed to seeing the IceMen thrive.
“I can’t thank Mayor John Delaney enough because it was his idea to put that [advisory group] together. We’ve got some really key people on that board, some of the top business people in Jacksonville,” Ohrablo said. “Everything they said they were going to do for us so far they’ve done. It’s just so exciting to have those guys involved with us. I’ve met with them constantly over the last few weeks and months and they just have been awesome. They’re so excited about this.”
One of the members of the advisory group is synonymous with hockey in Jacksonville. Gilles Richard played for teams based in Jacksonville and was the general manager of the Barracudas. These days he runs the Jax Ice and Sportsplex, which will be the practice facility for the IceMen a few months from now. Richard could not any happier that hockey is back.
“I’m ecstatic. I’ve been in this town since 1993 playing and them GM and then now coaching and being the Hockey director [at Jax Ice],” Richard said. “This is a great day for hockey again so I’m extremely excited to bring it back.”
Another member of the history of hockey in Jacksonville, former New York Rangers great Ron Duguay, flew in from New York for the ceremony. Duguay, who played a handful of games for and coached the Barracudas, was excited about how the entire community has come together as one in regards to the IceMen.
“It’s how it is returning more than anything for me. It looks like the way it is set up right now with them having a partnership with the facility here and with the city of Jacksonville where they’re really behind them as a partner to make sure they succeed, that’s the excitement I’m having,” Duguay said. “It wasn’t there when I was doing it. It was a struggle to financially make enough money to just exist. There was so much stress. Now this place is affordable and the city wants to see that it is affordable and they’re going to do everything they can to help them promote. That’s the difference and that’s why I’m excited and that’s why I have said I will help. I will help the cause to see that Jacksonville becomes what I think should have happened fifteen years ago when I was involved and that is to have a legitimate good East Coast hockey team that is affordable for the fans and they can exist because they’re making a little bit of money.”
IceMen partner Ruperto, who is the CFO/SVP for Rayonier Advanced Materials, sees the IceMen as a very nice and important addition to the Jacksonville community and deserving of full support from the people and businesses that call the city home.
“It’s very important for the community to gather around on this and support the team and support the effort to bring this here,” Ruperto said. “I think it is good for the city as well, having more entertainment, having more options. It’s just an exciting time to be here.”
The coming days, weeks and months will be busy ones as Ohrablo and his team set up the infrastructure of the front office, hiring a head coach, finding an NHL affiliation, building a roster and selling corporate partnerships and season tickets. October will be here soon enough but based on the excitement generated so far, Ohrablo has proven once again that he is a master of creating successful franchises and the Jacksonville IceMen will be a win-win for everyone.
Contact the author at don.money@prohockeynews.com
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