22 replies to this topic

[JR1]

I started to do some research at the ECHL website since there is a good possibility that the Komets will make the move to this league for next season... I have found some good and interesting information that I am going to link in this thread...

ECHL Frequently Asked Questions

-the further down you go, the better the questions/answers get


ECHL Fast Facts

-some neat info here


NHL/AHL Affiliations

-list of ECHL teams and their affiliates


ECHL Team Map



You can also go to their Multimedia tab and watch daily highlights and plays of the week... Alot of good information on this site...

[boxcar22]

IF Fort Wayne goes to the ECHL- do you think that Bloomington/Quad City/Evansville automaticly join or stay in the CHL? What is the feeling in FTW? Yes I left Dayton off- I have them #1 in the dead pool- sorry Gems fans.

[Cyclonesdiehard]

Bloomington would be a no.

Quad City is in a unique area, and has success in the past. I doubt they make it to the ECHL though due to multiple owners in a few short years showing instability.

Evansville was wanted by the ECHL, and is drawing good crowds so I would think they are a go.

[JR1]

I think I see that "America One" is the ECHL's internet tv provider... How are they? Are they as unreliable as B2 was or as non consumer friendly as CHLTV is??? Just curious...will probably get a game this season and check out for myself...

Thanks.

[JR1]

Cyclonesdiehard, on 22 January 2012 - 11:27 AM, said:

Bloomington would be a no.

Quad City is in a unique area, and has success in the past. I doubt they make it to the ECHL though due to multiple owners in a few short years showing instability.

Evansville was wanted by the ECHL, and is drawing good crowds so I would think they are a go.

I agree...

QC may be a possibility if some other CHL teams make the transition for next season as well.... Teams like Missouri, Wichita, Tulsa could make a nice western conference "central" division with maybe Colorado....

Who knows...will be interesting....

[minor life]

Dayton and Bloomy are 1 and 1A in the death pool. Word we are hearing is others have been covering some Bloomy expenses already. QC has ECHL and USHL options. The arena will help determine what happens.

[StingrayFan]

ECHL/PHPA Collective Bargaining Agreement

http://www.phpa.com/...ning-agreement/

[Miracle on Vanrick]

America One (aka the B2) is decent. Some arenas have great coverage of the game. Toledo comes to mind with multiple cameras being used. But then there are places like Kzoo have one camera and it isn't the greatest coverage. I believe the ECHL actually has quality standards for America One. When Kzoo joined the league they had to update there coverage. I have never had the blackout problem with America One like I had with the old B2.

As far as the ECHL site, tons of great info on there.

[Drake8]

My brother used to play for Alaska and we never had problems with Anerican one. The feed always came through with announcers from alaska so i cant complain. Most feeds in the western conference are good.

Edited by Drake8, 23 January 2012 - 09:38 AM.

[minor life]

This should give everyone a better idea of what the Franke's may like and their direction. http://arenadigest.c...e-like-baseball

[Mr Ricochet]

Great thread, JR. Great post, ML!!

Quote

With the CHL in rough shape and the Fort Wayne Komets looking to move to the ECHL, owner Michael Franke says more structure is needed in minor-league hockey -- with the NHL's involvement.

How long has this been mentioned on message boards? I know for sure at least 5 years back and for sure once the IHL2 got underway. The owners and leagues are just too competitive to police themselves, and it hurts the sport as a result. These guys bankrupt each other, and their leagues, to win a cup.

Great to have owners who will sell their soul for a cup, but what good is it if you don't have a league to play in 2 years from then? Having a parent overseer like the NHL that will police and set up the rules of operation will indeed bring as much stability as can be hoped for.

Quote

His solution is simple: there needs to be a more organized structure to minor-league hockey, mimicking the tiered structure used in Minor League Baseball, working closely with Major League Baseball: A Class AAA league (the AHL), a Class AA league (the ECHL, presumably) and Class A leagues (the CHL, the SPHL, etc.).

If the CHL must be called A, IMO it must be called High A. This league is solid that has an excellent commissioner and the play is damn near the ECHL. A bit older, a tad slower and a bit more refined in its play.

What's up with Franke? This guy, and the reporters out of FW, have never made so much sense. ....... Hockey in the Midwest seems to be shedding a dead skin and looking at a revival of sorts. Assuming the actions follow the talk, and as we all know that doesn't happen enough, fans might be looking at the best Midwest AA hockey they've ever seen.

[minor life]

The PHPA is an arm of the NHLPA. The CBA in the NHL expires this year, the CHL expires, and the SPHL has no CBA. This is what most of us are saying could be the most opportune time in hockey history to develop the baseball type system. The PHPA could get its nose dirty and make this happen, which would give that part of the union a lot of credibility that players want. Bring the pro hockey community together? WOW what a novel idea.

[JR1]

I think the Frankes realize that the market for viable AA cites in the midwest is non-existent outside where AA hockey is currently surviving... I dont think they want to go back to helping support franchises outside of their own nor do I think they want to remain or start in a league where its survival is a yearly battle.

I also think they know that it would be a hard sell to go back to what the IHL2 offered and keep ticket prices where they currenly are...

[JR1]

minor life, on 23 January 2012 - 10:17 AM, said:

This should give everyone a better idea of what the Franke's may like and their direction. http://arenadigest.c...e-like-baseball

Here is Ben Smith's article that mirror's closely minorlife's article he posted:

Major overhaul to minor leagues

[Miracle on Vanrick]

Franke is going to cause a revolt in the die hard fans if he doesn't switch leagues this upcoming summer. It is being brought up to the point it is teasing the fans down there.

[artie fufkin]

People forget that minor league baseball has only been viable economically for the past 20 years. Prior to that, it was pretty similar to the landscape seen in minor league hockey. One of the first things that happened in the turn around was throwing out communities that didn't have the economic or population base to support a minor league franchise. An even bigger factor in the development was when Major League Baseball established minimum stadium standards to have a franchise. The standards covered everything from the number of seats, to lighting and clubhouse facilities. Quickly, old run down parks were replaced with new modern facilities. Those that established new facilities in the early 1990s are now being pushed by communities with brand new facilities that are essentially mini-major league parks. If the NHL established a similar standard for minor league arenas, a team in a place like Dayton would be on borrowed time unless they had a new building under construction.

Even if the NHL were to go to a system similar to MLB, there's no guarantee that would make any difference in the economic outcome. Baseball has the advantage of playing more games at a lower ticket price during the best time of the year. Would you rather spend a warm summer night outside watching a game or spend a cold winter evening inside a nondescript building? Baseball teams also have the luxury of not competing with other parties for dates to use a facility. Most baseball stadiums are used almost exclusively to house the team. It's very rare the facility is used for any other purpose during the season. On the other hand, a hockey team is competing with a basketball team or two, concerts, the circus, the home show, the boat show, etc.

Edited by artie fufkin, 23 January 2012 - 04:30 PM.

[Miracle on Vanrick]

Could one potential expansion city be Glens Fall, New York in the next two years? Construction has started this month on the arena in Allentown for the Phantoms new home. The arena is suppose to be completed by September of 2013. Does the Glens Falls Civic Center pick up another AHL franchise, join the ECHL and have a natural rival in Elmira, or go dark in terms of hockey?

[artie fufkin]

Miracle on Vanrick, on 24 January 2012 - 12:36 PM, said:

Could one potential expansion city be Glens Fall, New York in the next two years? Construction has started this month on the arena in Allentown for the Phantoms new home. The arena is suppose to be completed by September of 2013. Does the Glens Falls Civic Center pick up another AHL franchise, join the ECHL and have a natural rival in Elmira, or go dark in terms of hockey?

I'm not sure the area will support an ECHL team. The area definitely wasn't interested in the UHL after the Red Wings left. Maybe the Devils move up the Thruway at that point? Hell, the Devils wouldn't have to get new uniforms. Glens Falls attendance numbers are extremely skewed because it includes the 45,000 for the AHL winter classic.

[Mr Ricochet]

artie fufkin, on 23 January 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

People forget that minor league baseball has only been viable economically for the past 20 years. Prior to that, it was pretty similar to the landscape seen in minor league hockey. One of the first things that happened in the turn around was throwing out communities that didn't have the economic or population base to support a minor league franchise. An even bigger factor in the development was when Major League Baseball established minimum stadium standards to have a franchise. The standards covered everything from the number of seats, to lighting and clubhouse facilities. Quickly, old run down parks were replaced with new modern facilities. Those that established new facilities in the early 1990s are now being pushed by communities with brand new facilities that are essentially mini-major league parks. If the NHL established a similar standard for minor league arenas, a team in a place like Dayton would be on borrowed time unless they had a new building under construction. Even if the NHL were to go to a system similar to MLB, there's no guarantee that would make any difference in the economic outcome. Baseball has the advantage of playing more games at a lower ticket price during the best time of the year. Would you rather spend a warm summer night outside watching a game or spend a cold winter evening inside a nondescript building? Baseball teams also have the luxury of not competing with other parties for dates to use a facility. Most baseball stadiums are used almost exclusively to house the team. It's very rare the facility is used for any other purpose during the season. On the other hand, a hockey team is competing with a basketball team or two, concerts, the circus, the home show, the boat show, etc.

Great post, Artie............. But, doesn't MLB contribute to the their minor league affiliates? I do know that they pay the players' salaries in the minor leagues.

If that were to happen, the NHL club paying the salaries of their affiliates, throughout 30 AA teams that would drastically reduce the AA affiliate's costs.

[artie fufkin]

Mr Ricochet, on 26 January 2012 - 11:13 AM, said:

artie fufkin, on 23 January 2012 - 04:29 PM, said:

People forget that minor league baseball has only been viable economically for the past 20 years. Prior to that, it was pretty similar to the landscape seen in minor league hockey. One of the first things that happened in the turn around was throwing out communities that didn't have the economic or population base to support a minor league franchise. An even bigger factor in the development was when Major League Baseball established minimum stadium standards to have a franchise. The standards covered everything from the number of seats, to lighting and clubhouse facilities. Quickly, old run down parks were replaced with new modern facilities. Those that established new facilities in the early 1990s are now being pushed by communities with brand new facilities that are essentially mini-major league parks. If the NHL established a similar standard for minor league arenas, a team in a place like Dayton would be on borrowed time unless they had a new building under construction. Even if the NHL were to go to a system similar to MLB, there's no guarantee that would make any difference in the economic outcome. Baseball has the advantage of playing more games at a lower ticket price during the best time of the year. Would you rather spend a warm summer night outside watching a game or spend a cold winter evening inside a nondescript building? Baseball teams also have the luxury of not competing with other parties for dates to use a facility. Most baseball stadiums are used almost exclusively to house the team. It's very rare the facility is used for any other purpose during the season. On the other hand, a hockey team is competing with a basketball team or two, concerts, the circus, the home show, the boat show, etc.

Great post, Artie............. But, doesn't MLB contribute to the their minor league affiliates? I do know that they pay the players' salaries in the minor leagues.

If that were to happen, the NHL club paying the salaries of their affiliates, throughout 30 AA teams that would drastically reduce the AA affiliate's costs.

The major league team pays salaries and insurance costs for all the players, coaches, trainers and scouts. The minor league team pays all the expenses to operate the team (marketing, travel, groundscrew, etc.). ECHL teams already have at least some players that are covered by the NHL team. Anybody who is directly assigned to an ECHL team by the NHL team is paid by the parent team.

Affiliated minor league baseball teams are not cheap to acquire. A level teams are going for anywhere between $5 and $10 million. A AAA team could go for upwards of $50 million.