Just wanted to start a thread for discussion about expansion, since the June 15 deadline is rapidly approaching. The AAHL has maintained that it hopes to field 6-8 teams in 2010-11. No announcements have been made yet, but we should start hearing things in the next couple weeks...
At last report, all 4 teams that finished the 2009-10 season were expected to return for the 2010-11 season. Evansville, Battle Creek and Chi-Town all seem to be on fairly solid ground. West Michigan's situation may be slightly in question, since there has been no confirmation regarding where they'll be playing. (A report in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel indicated that the Blizzard need to "find a place to play" for the upcoming season.) If they stay at the LC Walker Arena (which is much larger than other AAHL rinks), they'll still play second fiddle to the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks when it comes to scheduling and fan support. Not ideal, by any stretch of the imagination, but we really haven't been given any reason to assume the arrangement from last season won't continue. So for now, I think we can assume (with a fair amount of confidence) that all 4 teams from the end of last season will indeed be back.
Beyond that, there hasn't been too much in the way of strong rumors to this point...
* The efforts to rekindle things in Madison seem to be ongoing, but there's been no indication of much success in that realm so far. I think the market certainly has potential, but it'll always be an uphill battle going against Wisconsin. Frankly, I doubt many serious investors will want to try it again right after the Muskies failed last year, but I wouldn't rule it out completely just yet.
* The Battle Creek Enquirer has mentioned 3 potential expansion sites in Michigan - Traverse City, Alpena and Marquette. Traverse City currently has a team in the NAHL (Teir-II Junior-A), so I wouldn't exactly count on a city of 15,000 supporting 2 hockey teams, even in hockey-mad Michigan. Alpena and Marquette also had teams in the NAHL until the end of last season, when the franchises moved to Corpus Christi and Flint, respectively. So there's some history in both of those places, and voids to fill.
* I've heard nothing about anyone trying things a third time in Metro Detroit, but I still think there's potential there. Put a good team on the ice, market it properly and price the tickets realistically, and people in that area will support it. Shame the first two go-rounds in Detroit failed miserably, because the track record will likely scare off any potential investors.
Anyway, please use this thread to discuss expansion throughout the off-season. Feel free to throw out potential expansion cities and talk about any rumors that are floating around. And when official announcements start coming out, use this thread to talk about them.
At last report, all 4 teams that finished the 2009-10 season were expected to return for the 2010-11 season. Evansville, Battle Creek and Chi-Town all seem to be on fairly solid ground. West Michigan's situation may be slightly in question, since there has been no confirmation regarding where they'll be playing. (A report in the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel indicated that the Blizzard need to "find a place to play" for the upcoming season.) If they stay at the LC Walker Arena (which is much larger than other AAHL rinks), they'll still play second fiddle to the USHL's Muskegon Lumberjacks when it comes to scheduling and fan support. Not ideal, by any stretch of the imagination, but we really haven't been given any reason to assume the arrangement from last season won't continue. So for now, I think we can assume (with a fair amount of confidence) that all 4 teams from the end of last season will indeed be back.
Beyond that, there hasn't been too much in the way of strong rumors to this point...
* The efforts to rekindle things in Madison seem to be ongoing, but there's been no indication of much success in that realm so far. I think the market certainly has potential, but it'll always be an uphill battle going against Wisconsin. Frankly, I doubt many serious investors will want to try it again right after the Muskies failed last year, but I wouldn't rule it out completely just yet.
* The Battle Creek Enquirer has mentioned 3 potential expansion sites in Michigan - Traverse City, Alpena and Marquette. Traverse City currently has a team in the NAHL (Teir-II Junior-A), so I wouldn't exactly count on a city of 15,000 supporting 2 hockey teams, even in hockey-mad Michigan. Alpena and Marquette also had teams in the NAHL until the end of last season, when the franchises moved to Corpus Christi and Flint, respectively. So there's some history in both of those places, and voids to fill.
* I've heard nothing about anyone trying things a third time in Metro Detroit, but I still think there's potential there. Put a good team on the ice, market it properly and price the tickets realistically, and people in that area will support it. Shame the first two go-rounds in Detroit failed miserably, because the track record will likely scare off any potential investors.
Anyway, please use this thread to discuss expansion throughout the off-season. Feel free to throw out potential expansion cities and talk about any rumors that are floating around. And when official announcements start coming out, use this thread to talk about them.