Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, May 21, 1994 TAG: 9405210052
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RANDY KING STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
The Huntsville (Ala.) franchise, formerly the Roanoke Valley Rampage, has been sold by owner Larry Revo to a group that will move the team to Tallahassee, Fla. The Tallahassee entry will compete in the '94-95 season.
Revo, who moved the franchise from Vinton to Huntsville in March 1993, reportedly received $800,000 for the Blast from a group headed by the son of Richmond Renegades owner David Elmore.
Meanwhile, the ECHL has temporarily lost its franchise in Louisville, Ky. IceHawks owner Horn Chen, locked in a dispute with officials over renovations at Louisville's Broadbent Arena, was given permission by the league's board of governors to sit out the '94-95 season. Chen is expected to move the club for the '95-96 season, most likely to Daytona Beach, Fla.
Friday's developments leave the ECHL with 18 operating franchises for '94-95.
The league also announced realignment of its three divisions, to be called the East, South and North. Each division will have six teams.
The South Carolina Stingrays have been moved from the East Division to the South Division, where they will join Tallahassee; Nashville, Tenn.; Knoxville, Tenn.; Birmingham, Ala.; and Huntington, W.Va.
The East Division, in which the Roanoke Express competes, loses South Carolina but retains Hampton Roads; Richmond; Charlotte, N.C.; Raleigh, N.C.; and Greensboro, N.C.
The West Division is made up of Wheeling, W.Va.; Toledo, Ohio; Dayton, Ohio; Columbus, Ohio; Erie, Pa.; and Johnstown, Pa.
\ PRIMO EXECUTIVES: Express majority owner-president John Gagnon and general manager Pierre Paiement have been selected the ECHL's executives of the year for 1993-94.
Gagnon and Paiement were the primary forces behind the rejuvenation of professional hockey in Roanoke. The expansion franchise averaged 4,653 fans at home, nearly triple what Revo's Rampage drew in 1992-93.
\ EXPANSION OUTLOOK: Three cities - Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, Pa.; Columbia, S.C.; and Greenville/Spartanburg, S.C. - have applied for expansion franchises for the 1995-96 season.
Three more cities - Daytona Beach, Fla.; Pensacola, Fla.; and Mobile, Ala. - have been approved by the league as potential franchises sites.
\ SCHEDULING CHANGE: No longer will fans get a look at every ECHL team during the 68-gam regular season.
In a scheduling move that will reduce travel expenses, each team no longer will play every club outside its division twice.
For instance, in '94-95, the East Division teams will play the six North Division teams once - on the road - while playing the six South Division teams once - at home. The North Division members will play one game at each South Division franchise.
\ PLAYOFF FORMAT: Although nothing is final, the ECHL is expected to change its playoff format once again.
The most likely scenario is that the top four teams in each of three six-team divisions will qualify for the playoffs. There will be no wild-card entry.
In 1993-94, 16 of 19 clubs qualified for postseason play.
by CNB