Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 12, 1990 TAG: 9006120039
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
If so, contact the East Coast Hockey League. The ECHL might post a finder's fee.
"As far as I know, nobody around has heard from Mr. Geery lately," Henry Brabham said Monday. "If you see him, tell him to come see me or give me a call."
Geery, who bought the Lancers from Brabham a year ago, apparently has moved out of town, Brabham said.
"His home phone has been cut off," Brabham said. "He hasn't been in his office for months.
"His wife came in last week and took some of his personal belongings with her. She claims she hasn't heard from him, either."
Attempts to reach Geery have been unsucessful.
Brabham said the New Yorker owes him $30,000 in back rent at the LancerLot, which houses the club's rink and office.
Brabham also said Geery owes money to businesses in the Roanoke area and around the league.
Last Tuesday at the ECHL summer meetings in Hilton Head, S.C., the league's owners, including Brabham, voted to revoke the Virginia franchise.
"From the way I understand it, the lawyers say we've got to give him 20 days from the day we revoked the franchise," Brabham said. "I've sent him a letter. The league has sent him a letter. But they're still lying down at the post office because he hasn't been around to pick them up."
Since the 1989-90 ECHL season concluded in early April, Geery has spent much of his time on the road trying to land a franchise in the Global Hockey League.
On May 3, Geery announced he was putting a GHL team in Birmingham, Ala., but Friday in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, GHL co-founder Michael Gobuty announced that the new league won't attempt to begin play until 1991-92.
"He [Geery] tried to get me in on that deal," Brabham said. "I knew he was going to lose his tail in that. It didn't make any sense."
It may not be long before Geery is 0-for-2. Brabham said Geery's days in the ECHL are numbered.
"Even if he agrees to pay his bills and come back, he's still got to get voted back into the league. I don't see that happening," Brabham said.
Brabham, who offered to repurchase the club for $30,000 two months ago, already has begun plans to take over the local franchise.
"I've started a new corporation called the Roanoke Valley Rebels Ltd.," Brabham said. "I'm going ahead with things. If you move out of a building like he's done, I assume you've stopped doing business."
Brabham said ECHL Commissioner Pat Kelly met with league attorneys Monday in Norfolk to discuss the league's rights regarding revoking Geery's Virginia franchise.
"I'd just like to get this settled," Brabham said. "There's a lot of work to be done before the hockey season gets started."
by CNB