Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, May 5, 1993 TAG: 9305050056
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Hundreds of miles away in Freeport, Bahamas, the fate of the sport in Roanoke will be determined this week when East Coast Hockey League club owners vote on a 1993-94 expansion franchise bid by a seven-member area group headed by Gagnon and Paiement.
Gagnon and Paiement leave town thinking positive.
"I think we're going to get it," said Botetourt County's Gagnon, whose trucking businesses in the United States and Canada generated more than $26 million in 1992.
"My gut feeling is there will be hockey here next year. I'm a very optimistic person. In my life, I always got what I wanted. I always fought for it. If this were voted down, it would be a big personal defeat for me."
The vote on the Roanoke bid is expected to come Friday. Gagnon has been told by Raleigh (N.C.) IceCaps owner Miles Wolff that he should be prepared to make a 10-minute presentation to the league's 15 voting club owners on Friday morning.
Gagnon's 10-minute presentation and ensuing question-and-answer session with the club owners likely will determine whether Roanoke will remain a player in a league in which it started as one of five charter members in 1988-89.
"I haven't written my speech yet," said Gagnon, whose presentation will include pictures of the 8,363-seat Roanoke Civic Center and the city.
"I will tell them why hockey in Roanoke would work and obviously why it didn't work last year. Then I will go into the fact we have guaranteed commitments for 1,400 season tickets and the advantages of playing in the Roanoke Civic Center as opposed to the Vinton LancerLot as in years past."
Undoubtedly, the biggest hurdle facing the group's bid will be possible trepidation left by hockey's checkered past in the Roanoke Valley. The now-departed Roanoke Valley Rampage averaged an ECHL-record-low 1,439 fans per game in Vinton last season.
"I understand why some may think Roanoke is a no-draw city," Gagnon said. "Say a year or two from now, Roanoke doesn't work. That's a possibility, but I don't feel like that. I can understand why the league doesn't want a black mark.
"But I think with proper marketing strategy, by playing in the civic center, which is a major-league facility, that hockey can work in Roanoke. I think that has been proven here the past few weeks. We've got a commitment for 800 season tickets from Downtown Roanoke Inc. The phones have been ringing off the hook at Pierre's restaurant and my business.
"There has been a lot of work done and a lot of excitement generated here."
Gagnon said he is certain one of the first questions will be: What makes him qualified to run a hockey franchise in a place where others have failed?
"To that, I would say the main thing is our experience in other fields," the 40-year-old Quebec native said. "My experience in marketing my companies has been effective.
"Another thing is the people I have around me. I didn't want to own 100 percent of the club because I wanted to get people involved. We have people on board that represent the entire community. We have lawyers, two CPAs, two restaurant owners. We have owners from Roanoke City, Roanoke County, Botetourt County, Galax, Blacksburg and Covington, which pretty much represents the whole area."
The Roanoke group will need a majority among the 15 voting members to secure a franchise.
"Eight votes," Gagnon said confidently. "I know I'll have that."
In addition to the Roanoke franchise bid, the ECHL owners also will vote on a 1993-94 expansion bid by a Huntington, W.Va., group.
by CNB