
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 3, 1990                   TAG: 9003032827
SECTION: SPORTS                    PAGE: C1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: RANDY KING SPORTSWRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Short

LANCERS GET OK TO MOVE

Virginia Lancers owner Richard Geery has received permission from the East Coast Hockey League to move the team.

Vinton businessman Henry Brabham, who sold the franchise to Geery in June 1989, said Friday night that he "fully expects" Geery to move the club at the end of the season.

Geery was vacationing in Florida on Friday and was unavailable for comment on a possible move.

Brabham, who owns the Vinton LancerLot in which the Lancers play, said he has cleared Geery to move the team out of the building.

"We had a five-year handshake deal, but Richard has lost so much money here this year due to poor attendance that I can't blame him for wanting to move the club...He's tried everything."

When asked if he would bring another team into Vinton if Geery moved the Lancers elsewhere, Brabham was noncommittal.

"Who knows?" he said. "With the crowds this team, a first-place team at that, is drawing, I don't know of anybody who would want to put a damn team in this place."

The Lancers easily are the worst home draw in the eight-team ECHL, attracting an average of 1,800 fans per game. They drew an announced crowd of 1,701 Friday night for a 6-0 loss to Hampton Roads, but observers estimated the crowd at closer to 1,200.

by CNB