Please Note: I've combined a couple of existing threads - about Indy and the ECHL - in order to bring together all of the existing talk about next season's leagues and teams. Going forward, please use this thread to discuss the future of the CHL and its teams, any possible moves to the ECHL or other leagues, rumors about another IHL rebirth, possible expansion, and the like. Thanks.
Indy up for grabs?
Anytime we've talked about CHL (or IHL or whatever league we're going to be in after this year) expansion, Indianapolis has always been written off due to the presence of the Indiana Ice USHL team. Indy isn't a strong enough hockey market to support two high-level teams, so the thought has been "as long as the Ice are around there can't be a pro team there too."
Well, for the first time, there's some doubt about the future of the Indiana Ice organization as we know it...
The Ice joined the USHL starting with the 2004-05 season, after the CHL's Indianapolis Ice left town. The Ice have been quite successful, making the playoffs all 7 seasons and winning one USHL championship a few years ago. Their attendance has consistently been among the league's best (and it still is), but it's also trending downward. They peaked at an average of 4662 fans per game in 2005-06, but haven't topped 3700 in any of the past 5 seasons - and this season's average is a franchise-worst 3392 so far. For comparison's sake, the IHL and CHL Ice usually averaged 5000+.
Gradually dwindling attendance itself isn't really cause for much concern though - IF all other variables remain the same.
However, that's the interesting part. Now, one BIG variable is about to change. Significantly.
Yesterday, the Indiana State Fair Commission approved spending $3.8 million to extensively renovate Pepsi Coliseum (built in 1939), home of the Ice. I love that building and spent a ton of time there as a kid, but it has not aged well and it is sorely in need of this work. The renovations will include major architectural and engineering updates, along with a number of other changes that will make the facility a "premier venue" again. (A lot of people don't know that it has hosted The Beatles and The Rolling Stones along with an appearance by John F Kennedy, among many other major events and attractions.) The plan is to use the Coliseum to host major concerts and events again, including all of the top-notch concerts during the Indiana State Fair each year.
Now, here's the kicker. The Coliseum will be completely closed throughout the renovation process - which will start this fall and not end until sometime in 2014. That means the 2012-13 and 2013-14 hockey seasons can not be played there.
So this really makes the immediate future of the Indiana Ice a big question mark. Playing downtown at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (formerly Conseco Fieldhouse) probably isn't feasible given higher costs and current attendance, although it's really their only option. Indy doesn't have another ice rink with suitable seating capacity.
If the Fieldhouse isn't going to work, then what? Might the USHL Ice suspend operations, fold, or even move to another city? If any of those 3 options come to fruition, it could finally open the door for pro hockey's return to Indianapolis. (Fun Fact - Indy is the largest US or Canadian city north of the Mason-Dixon line that is currently without a pro hockey team.) A pro team could probably make the Fieldhouse work for a couple years (attendance would be really strong for at least a season or two), then - if necessary - move to the Coliseum after it's open again.
Obviously, all of this hinges on what the Skjodt family decides to do with the USHL Ice. But if they determine that they just can't take the financial hit of playing 2 full seasons downtown, Indy might become a very valuable free agent in the "Double-A" hockey world. And I'm sure that Michael Franke and Ron Geary would do everything in their power to get a team there next season...
Indy up for grabs?
Anytime we've talked about CHL (or IHL or whatever league we're going to be in after this year) expansion, Indianapolis has always been written off due to the presence of the Indiana Ice USHL team. Indy isn't a strong enough hockey market to support two high-level teams, so the thought has been "as long as the Ice are around there can't be a pro team there too."
Well, for the first time, there's some doubt about the future of the Indiana Ice organization as we know it...
The Ice joined the USHL starting with the 2004-05 season, after the CHL's Indianapolis Ice left town. The Ice have been quite successful, making the playoffs all 7 seasons and winning one USHL championship a few years ago. Their attendance has consistently been among the league's best (and it still is), but it's also trending downward. They peaked at an average of 4662 fans per game in 2005-06, but haven't topped 3700 in any of the past 5 seasons - and this season's average is a franchise-worst 3392 so far. For comparison's sake, the IHL and CHL Ice usually averaged 5000+.
Gradually dwindling attendance itself isn't really cause for much concern though - IF all other variables remain the same.
However, that's the interesting part. Now, one BIG variable is about to change. Significantly.
Yesterday, the Indiana State Fair Commission approved spending $3.8 million to extensively renovate Pepsi Coliseum (built in 1939), home of the Ice. I love that building and spent a ton of time there as a kid, but it has not aged well and it is sorely in need of this work. The renovations will include major architectural and engineering updates, along with a number of other changes that will make the facility a "premier venue" again. (A lot of people don't know that it has hosted The Beatles and The Rolling Stones along with an appearance by John F Kennedy, among many other major events and attractions.) The plan is to use the Coliseum to host major concerts and events again, including all of the top-notch concerts during the Indiana State Fair each year.
Now, here's the kicker. The Coliseum will be completely closed throughout the renovation process - which will start this fall and not end until sometime in 2014. That means the 2012-13 and 2013-14 hockey seasons can not be played there.
So this really makes the immediate future of the Indiana Ice a big question mark. Playing downtown at Bankers Life Fieldhouse (formerly Conseco Fieldhouse) probably isn't feasible given higher costs and current attendance, although it's really their only option. Indy doesn't have another ice rink with suitable seating capacity.
If the Fieldhouse isn't going to work, then what? Might the USHL Ice suspend operations, fold, or even move to another city? If any of those 3 options come to fruition, it could finally open the door for pro hockey's return to Indianapolis. (Fun Fact - Indy is the largest US or Canadian city north of the Mason-Dixon line that is currently without a pro hockey team.) A pro team could probably make the Fieldhouse work for a couple years (attendance would be really strong for at least a season or two), then - if necessary - move to the Coliseum after it's open again.
Obviously, all of this hinges on what the Skjodt family decides to do with the USHL Ice. But if they determine that they just can't take the financial hit of playing 2 full seasons downtown, Indy might become a very valuable free agent in the "Double-A" hockey world. And I'm sure that Michael Franke and Ron Geary would do everything in their power to get a team there next season...
