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Dayton Gems Cease Operations
Started By Cyclonesdiehard, May 17 2012 11:59 AM
12 replies to this topic
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Posted 17 May 2012 - 12:33 PM
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We can pass along your contact information to the new FHL team and transfer your deposit for you at no additional charge.
FHL? Have I missed an announcement?
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RIP Huckleberry. 1995-2009.... Thanks for 14 unforgettable years Huck. You will forever be loved and missed.
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Posted 17 May 2012 - 01:23 PM
Its at the bottom of the Gems obituary. May 30 the FHL is supposed to have a press conference. The owner is rumored to be the same guy who owns the Danville Dashers.
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Posted 17 May 2012 - 05:21 PM
Cyclonesdiehard, on 17 May 2012 - 01:23 PM, said:
Its at the bottom of the Gems obituary. May 30 the FHL is supposed to have a press conference. The owner is rumored to be the same guy who owns the Danville Dashers.
I know Cyclone, that's why I put it in a quote. It's the very first time I heard of the FHL coming to Dayton, and my question was did I miss an announcement prior to this PR........ Is today the very first day we know that the FHL is coming to Dayton?
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RIP Huckleberry. 1995-2009.... Thanks for 14 unforgettable years Huck. You will forever be loved and missed.
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RIP Huckleberry. 1995-2009.... Thanks for 14 unforgettable years Huck. You will forever be loved and missed.
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Posted 17 May 2012 - 09:55 PM
SteveMacD, on 17 May 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:
I think the FHL is going to do more harm than good to Dayton hockey.
Why Steve? I'm hoping A level takes hold in the Midwest. Dayton, Flint, PH, Bloomy........ You don't like the leagues management?
Have you seen any FHL or AAHL hockey? Surprisingly good IMO.
Crush Em Steel
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RIP Huckleberry. 1995-2009.... Thanks for 14 unforgettable years Huck. You will forever be loved and missed.
Blackhawks Rock
RIP Huckleberry. 1995-2009.... Thanks for 14 unforgettable years Huck. You will forever be loved and missed.
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Posted 18 May 2012 - 01:37 AM
It's too bad the death of AA hockey occurred in Dayton.
It appeared inevitable. The real attendance at Gems games hovered in the 1200 range and it's entirely possible that the team realized less than 1,000 paid tickets per game.
After the Bombers demise in 2009, the worst possible thing happened. Two undercapitalized bozos were granted an IHL franchise. The Dayton market needed a break from hockey-just like Cincinnati did 7 years earlier. Instead, a hastily arranged travesty known as the Gems came into being. The Frankes used the two clowns-Bruner and Yerrick-to help the dying IHL stay afloat. They went broke right around Thanksgiving-about 5 or so weeks into their first season.
The new ownership came to the rescue. That was a mistake. They should have allowed the ill-fated franchise to fail and started anew at a future date. While this group (Rupp, Garfield and Nitz) were well meant, they were clearly in over their heads. The Dayton market would challenge the best capitalized owners and the shrewdest marketing types. While these owners were not incompetent, they attempted to right a ship that never should have sailed. The two clowns and basic market conditions-Datyon's abysmal economy and the failure of the Bombers-had poisoned the market beyond short term repair. The new owners never had a chance.
There were other major problems as well. Hara wasn't up to any reasonable standards. While my memories of the two playoff games I had seen the Bombers play at Hara in 2002 had convinced me that the environment at Hara (small and noisy) would generate excitement which lacked at the cavernous Nutter Center, there were so many deficiencies at Hara that the arena itself contributed to the failure of the Gems. It was too cold, the bathrooms couldn't support a crowd of 1,500, and the general condition of the arena and parking lot was poor. I found these deficiencies to be sort of cool in sort of a nostalgic way, but the general public didn't have my point of view about the decrepit state of the arena.
I'm with Steve MacD. The FHL is not a stable entity. It reeks of instability. The alleged owner is a an absentee guy from Danville freaking Illinois. Dayton hockey doesn't need one more failure. It need time off. It needs a new facility. Perhaps that's a pipe dream, but it's the only way-at least by my way of thinking-that hockey will have a chance to revitalize itself.
My hat is off to the efforts put forth by the management team and ownership of the Gems and Hara Arena's owners. They all tried very hard to make AA hockey work. They all lost a significant amount of money as a result of their passion for hockey. They were dreamers and God Bless them all for being so.
It appeared inevitable. The real attendance at Gems games hovered in the 1200 range and it's entirely possible that the team realized less than 1,000 paid tickets per game.
After the Bombers demise in 2009, the worst possible thing happened. Two undercapitalized bozos were granted an IHL franchise. The Dayton market needed a break from hockey-just like Cincinnati did 7 years earlier. Instead, a hastily arranged travesty known as the Gems came into being. The Frankes used the two clowns-Bruner and Yerrick-to help the dying IHL stay afloat. They went broke right around Thanksgiving-about 5 or so weeks into their first season.
The new ownership came to the rescue. That was a mistake. They should have allowed the ill-fated franchise to fail and started anew at a future date. While this group (Rupp, Garfield and Nitz) were well meant, they were clearly in over their heads. The Dayton market would challenge the best capitalized owners and the shrewdest marketing types. While these owners were not incompetent, they attempted to right a ship that never should have sailed. The two clowns and basic market conditions-Datyon's abysmal economy and the failure of the Bombers-had poisoned the market beyond short term repair. The new owners never had a chance.
There were other major problems as well. Hara wasn't up to any reasonable standards. While my memories of the two playoff games I had seen the Bombers play at Hara in 2002 had convinced me that the environment at Hara (small and noisy) would generate excitement which lacked at the cavernous Nutter Center, there were so many deficiencies at Hara that the arena itself contributed to the failure of the Gems. It was too cold, the bathrooms couldn't support a crowd of 1,500, and the general condition of the arena and parking lot was poor. I found these deficiencies to be sort of cool in sort of a nostalgic way, but the general public didn't have my point of view about the decrepit state of the arena.
I'm with Steve MacD. The FHL is not a stable entity. It reeks of instability. The alleged owner is a an absentee guy from Danville freaking Illinois. Dayton hockey doesn't need one more failure. It need time off. It needs a new facility. Perhaps that's a pipe dream, but it's the only way-at least by my way of thinking-that hockey will have a chance to revitalize itself.
My hat is off to the efforts put forth by the management team and ownership of the Gems and Hara Arena's owners. They all tried very hard to make AA hockey work. They all lost a significant amount of money as a result of their passion for hockey. They were dreamers and God Bless them all for being so.
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Posted 19 May 2012 - 08:45 PM
Mr Ricochet, on 17 May 2012 - 09:55 PM, said:
SteveMacD, on 17 May 2012 - 09:20 PM, said:
I think the FHL is going to do more harm than good to Dayton hockey.
Why Steve? I'm hoping A level takes hold in the Midwest. Dayton, Flint, PH, Bloomy........ You don't like the leagues management?
Well...
echl rocks, on 18 May 2012 - 01:37 AM, said:
I'm with Steve MacD. The FHL is not a stable entity. It reeks of instability. The alleged owner is a an absentee guy from Danville freaking Illinois. Dayton hockey doesn't need one more failure. It need time off. It needs a new facility. Perhaps that's a pipe dream, but it's the only way-at least by my way of thinking-that hockey will have a chance to revitalize itself.
That pretty much sums it up.
The only other things I could add is that in concept I don't have a problem with single-A hockey, but the FHL is no SPHL, and it's NOT a Midwestern league. Dayton doesn't need another questionable league or questionable team owner. We've been through enough over the past decade. If it were the most recent Gems ownership starting a team in a credible league officially recognized by the NHL/AHL/ECHL structure, then I might not have any reservations. This moves seems more like an act of desperation that will only hurt what's left of Dayton's hockey fan base.
Also, single-A's biggest selling point is that it only takes attendance of 1500-2000 to break even and that it's usually a cheap night out for fans. However, I can't think of a more depressing night out than sitting in crowd of 1500 in a 5500 seat arena (especially if that arena is Hara). I'd rather stay at home or go to a sports bar and watch Center Ice. There are just too many hockey options with better entertainment value and atmosphere within an hour and change from Dayton, such as Ohio State, Miami University, or the Cincinnati Cyclones. Dayton also has college club hockey, which can get pretty raucous. We don't need professional hockey for professional hockey's sake.
I'd rather see Dayton take a few years off from professional hockey to let the economy improve, to get a new downtown arena, and to find strong, committed ownership that will develop a strong organization and will actively work to grow the fan base as well as work with corporate sponsors. I'd love to see the most recent Gems ownership be involved somehow, because they were doing the right things, but were always behind due to starting from behind the 8 ball. And, to be honest, I'd rather have that team play in the ECHL.
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Have you seen any FHL or AAHL hockey? Surprisingly good IMO.
No I haven't, but the Bombers had a few SPHL players way back when, and they were always pretty good.
Edited by SteveMacD, 19 May 2012 - 08:46 PM.
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Posted 20 May 2012 - 06:25 AM
Cyclonesdiehard, on 17 May 2012 - 01:23 PM, said:
Its at the bottom of the Gems obituary. May 30 the FHL is supposed to have a press conference. The owner is rumored to be the same guy who owns the Danville Dashers.
Soskin?! Ewwwww
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Posted 22 May 2012 - 12:53 PM
echl rocks, on 18 May 2012 - 01:37 AM, said:
It's too bad the death of AA hockey occurred in Dayton.
It appeared inevitable. The real attendance at Gems games hovered in the 1200 range and it's entirely possible that the team realized less than 1,000 paid tickets per game.
After the Bombers demise in 2009, the worst possible thing happened. Two undercapitalized bozos were granted an IHL franchise. The Dayton market needed a break from hockey-just like Cincinnati did 7 years earlier. Instead, a hastily arranged travesty known as the Gems came into being. The Frankes used the two clowns-Bruner and Yerrick-to help the dying IHL stay afloat. They went broke right around Thanksgiving-about 5 or so weeks into their first season.
The new ownership came to the rescue. That was a mistake. They should have allowed the ill-fated franchise to fail and started anew at a future date. While this group (Rupp, Garfield and Nitz) were well meant, they were clearly in over their heads. The Dayton market would challenge the best capitalized owners and the shrewdest marketing types. While these owners were not incompetent, they attempted to right a ship that never should have sailed. The two clowns and basic market conditions-Datyon's abysmal economy and the failure of the Bombers-had poisoned the market beyond short term repair. The new owners never had a chance.
There were other major problems as well. Hara wasn't up to any reasonable standards. While my memories of the two playoff games I had seen the Bombers play at Hara in 2002 had convinced me that the environment at Hara (small and noisy) would generate excitement which lacked at the cavernous Nutter Center, there were so many deficiencies at Hara that the arena itself contributed to the failure of the Gems. It was too cold, the bathrooms couldn't support a crowd of 1,500, and the general condition of the arena and parking lot was poor. I found these deficiencies to be sort of cool in sort of a nostalgic way, but the general public didn't have my point of view about the decrepit state of the arena.
I'm with Steve MacD. The FHL is not a stable entity. It reeks of instability. The alleged owner is a an absentee guy from Danville freaking Illinois. Dayton hockey doesn't need one more failure. It need time off. It needs a new facility. Perhaps that's a pipe dream, but it's the only way-at least by my way of thinking-that hockey will have a chance to revitalize itself.
My hat is off to the efforts put forth by the management team and ownership of the Gems and Hara Arena's owners. They all tried very hard to make AA hockey work. They all lost a significant amount of money as a result of their passion for hockey. They were dreamers and God Bless them all for being so.
It appeared inevitable. The real attendance at Gems games hovered in the 1200 range and it's entirely possible that the team realized less than 1,000 paid tickets per game.
After the Bombers demise in 2009, the worst possible thing happened. Two undercapitalized bozos were granted an IHL franchise. The Dayton market needed a break from hockey-just like Cincinnati did 7 years earlier. Instead, a hastily arranged travesty known as the Gems came into being. The Frankes used the two clowns-Bruner and Yerrick-to help the dying IHL stay afloat. They went broke right around Thanksgiving-about 5 or so weeks into their first season.
The new ownership came to the rescue. That was a mistake. They should have allowed the ill-fated franchise to fail and started anew at a future date. While this group (Rupp, Garfield and Nitz) were well meant, they were clearly in over their heads. The Dayton market would challenge the best capitalized owners and the shrewdest marketing types. While these owners were not incompetent, they attempted to right a ship that never should have sailed. The two clowns and basic market conditions-Datyon's abysmal economy and the failure of the Bombers-had poisoned the market beyond short term repair. The new owners never had a chance.
There were other major problems as well. Hara wasn't up to any reasonable standards. While my memories of the two playoff games I had seen the Bombers play at Hara in 2002 had convinced me that the environment at Hara (small and noisy) would generate excitement which lacked at the cavernous Nutter Center, there were so many deficiencies at Hara that the arena itself contributed to the failure of the Gems. It was too cold, the bathrooms couldn't support a crowd of 1,500, and the general condition of the arena and parking lot was poor. I found these deficiencies to be sort of cool in sort of a nostalgic way, but the general public didn't have my point of view about the decrepit state of the arena.
I'm with Steve MacD. The FHL is not a stable entity. It reeks of instability. The alleged owner is a an absentee guy from Danville freaking Illinois. Dayton hockey doesn't need one more failure. It need time off. It needs a new facility. Perhaps that's a pipe dream, but it's the only way-at least by my way of thinking-that hockey will have a chance to revitalize itself.
My hat is off to the efforts put forth by the management team and ownership of the Gems and Hara Arena's owners. They all tried very hard to make AA hockey work. They all lost a significant amount of money as a result of their passion for hockey. They were dreamers and God Bless them all for being so.
Well put
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Posted 24 May 2012 - 11:30 AM
Curiosity got the best of me and I did some nostalgia Gems 'net searching. Here are a few "Gems", if you will:
http://www.journalga...9904/-1/blogs11
A little research would have shown the claim that "Owens" was a material writer for "Scrubs" was an outright lie. A writer "credit" could be for something as small as the incorporation of a single line of dialogue. It's nothing substantial. An acting double is like being a "super extra"-about $200 per day. Any research about these guys and their finances by anyone-the Frankes (IHL), a Fort Wayne or Dayton newspaper or any potential sponsor would have exposed the liars that Bruner and boy Yerrick were.
The movie "Foursome" never generated a box office ticket sold and probably far less than $100,000 in video sales. It was a complete failure.
Dog and pony shows don't substitute for substance.
http://www.fortwayne...601%2F308209908
Those "backers" never did become known.
http://www.middletow...ess.html?p=7381
http://www.springfie...out-422843.html
The Gems IHL season began in late October in 2009. These clowns barely hit a month of actual on ice ownership of the team.
I just put these few articles up to reinforce my premise that the entire Gem enterprise should never been undertaken with these two clowns at the helm.
If anyone is interested in more about the ill fated Gems and their ownership, a google of "richard bruner fort wayne" will get you going.
http://www.journalga...9904/-1/blogs11
Quote
They said that, despite their successes in northeast Indiana, the dough comes from time spent and worked in Los Angeles.
Bruner, 38, was a writer on the show "Scrubs," using the name Rich Owens, and then he headed the production company Great Ideas Entertainment. Yerrick, 23, was an actor who was Jake Gyllenhaal's double in "Jarhead." Bruner and Yerrick teamed up in the movie "Foursome," before returning to Fort Wayne because of the writer's strike.
Bruner, 38, was a writer on the show "Scrubs," using the name Rich Owens, and then he headed the production company Great Ideas Entertainment. Yerrick, 23, was an actor who was Jake Gyllenhaal's double in "Jarhead." Bruner and Yerrick teamed up in the movie "Foursome," before returning to Fort Wayne because of the writer's strike.
A little research would have shown the claim that "Owens" was a material writer for "Scrubs" was an outright lie. A writer "credit" could be for something as small as the incorporation of a single line of dialogue. It's nothing substantial. An acting double is like being a "super extra"-about $200 per day. Any research about these guys and their finances by anyone-the Frankes (IHL), a Fort Wayne or Dayton newspaper or any potential sponsor would have exposed the liars that Bruner and boy Yerrick were.
The movie "Foursome" never generated a box office ticket sold and probably far less than $100,000 in video sales. It was a complete failure.
Quote
The press conference today was, frankly, the best one I've seen at the minor-league level. There was about 100 people, including fans, staff, media, members of the old Gems franchise and even some curious former players from the now-defunct Dayton Bombers of the ECHL. One of them was former Komets player Tom Nemeth.
Dog and pony shows don't substitute for substance.
http://www.fortwayne...601%2F308209908
Quote
Bruner said Buddy's Pizza Buffet Co. has filed for bankruptcy and will no longer operate but that the legal filings shouldn't worry fans of his new hockey team, one of seven in the IHL.
"I know no matter what I say, people are going to come to their own conclusions," Bruner said. "But we wouldn't have set out to do the hockey team if we hadn't been able to support it (financially).
"We are not the only investors with the Gems. We have personal backers."
"I know no matter what I say, people are going to come to their own conclusions," Bruner said. "But we wouldn't have set out to do the hockey team if we hadn't been able to support it (financially).
"We are not the only investors with the Gems. We have personal backers."
Those "backers" never did become known.
http://www.middletow...ess.html?p=7381
http://www.springfie...out-422843.html
Quote
TROTWOOD – While the future of the International Hockey League’s Dayton Gems seems secure, the same can’t be said for team president Richard Bruner.
“It appears the league wants me out,” Bruner said Friday, Nov. 27. “At this stage, I realize I’m probably going to lose my investment.”
“It appears the league wants me out,” Bruner said Friday, Nov. 27. “At this stage, I realize I’m probably going to lose my investment.”
The Gems IHL season began in late October in 2009. These clowns barely hit a month of actual on ice ownership of the team.
I just put these few articles up to reinforce my premise that the entire Gem enterprise should never been undertaken with these two clowns at the helm.
If anyone is interested in more about the ill fated Gems and their ownership, a google of "richard bruner fort wayne" will get you going.
Edited by echl rocks, 24 May 2012 - 11:44 AM.
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