Dec. 5, 2010
Huntington Ice Hockey Supporters Schedule Meeting
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Placing $300,000 into the Big Sandy Superstore Arena bond issue dedicated to ice hockey has created a split amongst council members and administration members. If this were William Shakespeare, he would state, “To play (hockey) or not to play hockey. That is the question.”
Council members widened the bond’s line item to “infrastructure” after it appeared that a specification for ice and/or skating improvements might not pass council.
Fans supporting ice hockey will meet (tentatively) Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.. in the Cabell County Library meeting room, said Lenny Sundahi, one of the organizers of The Huntington Ice Sports Coalition (HISCO).
Sundahi said the meeting will brainstorm ways to build fan and organizational support for “attracting a new ice hockey franchise to Huntington’s Big Sandy Superstore Arena.”
In a prepared release Sundahi stated that the meeting will “gather like-minded individuals from all walks of the Tri-State area in support of bringing the sport of ice hockey back to Huntington.” He continued: “It is the goal of HISCO to gather fans of hockey from Huntington and the entire Tri-State area in support of actions that will bring the sport back to a city where it was once very passionately supported. Furthermore, with Pullman Square acting as a magnet to downtown we feel that hockey could be an even bigger draw than it has been in the past. We do recognize that past ice hockey teams have fallen by the wayside; the consensus is that these were due to flaws in team management, and not lack of fan support. Our belief is that with adequate management and promotion--preferably locally-based--a new team in any league would survive and prosper.”
The organizational meeting comes in response to City Council’s tepid response to overtures for updating the arena for a potential new franchise.
Speaking for the Huntington Ice Sports Coalition, Sundahi continued, “ As City Council has made progress on bonds aimed at renovating the Big Sandy Superstoren Arena, talk has centered on ice hockey as a potential tenant for the arena. Indeed, language had previously existed in the bonds specifying $300,000 for hockey equipment; however, this was reapportioned to "general infrastructure" due to council members and Mayor Wolfe's desire to see proof that such a venture will be supported.”
Finance chairman Steve Williams criticized the professional hockey failures of the past, while, council co-chairman Mark Bates stated some local businesses had called him to express support for another hockey franchise.
Left unsaid by council members are the city’s history with minor league sports. For instance, while the Huntington Blizzard brought crowds, the team (and successors) had financial woes. The schedule occasionally conflicted with home Marshall football and basketball games, but, the success or failure of hockey rested on the won-loss record of the team. Huntington rallies around winners and abandons losers, particularly when the latter do not have an educational institutional connection to the city.
To express support for ice hockey in Huntington, email huntingtonhockey@gmail.com, call (304)710-9627, or visit Facebook and Twitter: facebook.com/huntington-ice-sports-coalition or : twitter.com/htonhockey
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Huntington Ice Hockey Supporters Schedule Meeting
By Tony Rutherford
Huntingtonnews.net Reporter
Huntington, WV (HNN) – Placing $300,000 into the Big Sandy Superstore Arena bond issue dedicated to ice hockey has created a split amongst council members and administration members. If this were William Shakespeare, he would state, “To play (hockey) or not to play hockey. That is the question.”
Council members widened the bond’s line item to “infrastructure” after it appeared that a specification for ice and/or skating improvements might not pass council.
Fans supporting ice hockey will meet (tentatively) Dec. 13 at 1 p.m.. in the Cabell County Library meeting room, said Lenny Sundahi, one of the organizers of The Huntington Ice Sports Coalition (HISCO).
Sundahi said the meeting will brainstorm ways to build fan and organizational support for “attracting a new ice hockey franchise to Huntington’s Big Sandy Superstore Arena.”
In a prepared release Sundahi stated that the meeting will “gather like-minded individuals from all walks of the Tri-State area in support of bringing the sport of ice hockey back to Huntington.” He continued: “It is the goal of HISCO to gather fans of hockey from Huntington and the entire Tri-State area in support of actions that will bring the sport back to a city where it was once very passionately supported. Furthermore, with Pullman Square acting as a magnet to downtown we feel that hockey could be an even bigger draw than it has been in the past. We do recognize that past ice hockey teams have fallen by the wayside; the consensus is that these were due to flaws in team management, and not lack of fan support. Our belief is that with adequate management and promotion--preferably locally-based--a new team in any league would survive and prosper.”
The organizational meeting comes in response to City Council’s tepid response to overtures for updating the arena for a potential new franchise.
Speaking for the Huntington Ice Sports Coalition, Sundahi continued, “ As City Council has made progress on bonds aimed at renovating the Big Sandy Superstoren Arena, talk has centered on ice hockey as a potential tenant for the arena. Indeed, language had previously existed in the bonds specifying $300,000 for hockey equipment; however, this was reapportioned to "general infrastructure" due to council members and Mayor Wolfe's desire to see proof that such a venture will be supported.”
Finance chairman Steve Williams criticized the professional hockey failures of the past, while, council co-chairman Mark Bates stated some local businesses had called him to express support for another hockey franchise.
Left unsaid by council members are the city’s history with minor league sports. For instance, while the Huntington Blizzard brought crowds, the team (and successors) had financial woes. The schedule occasionally conflicted with home Marshall football and basketball games, but, the success or failure of hockey rested on the won-loss record of the team. Huntington rallies around winners and abandons losers, particularly when the latter do not have an educational institutional connection to the city.
To express support for ice hockey in Huntington, email huntingtonhockey@gmail.com, call (304)710-9627, or visit Facebook and Twitter: facebook.com/huntington-ice-sports-coalition or : twitter.com/htonhockey
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