Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SUNDAY, October 9, 1994 TAG: 9410110037
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: D-1 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JACK BOGACZYK
DATELINE: LENGTH: Long
It was slick. It was stunning. It went quickly. It got a lot of attention. Then, it only figures that what was to be professional hockey's last stand here became a standing ovation.
When Express president John Gagnon and general manager Pierre Paiement went to the ECHL meetings in May 1993 to beg for and buy a new franchise, it cost $500,000.
The ink wasn't dry on Gagnon's check when, 10 minutes later at the same table, the ECHL bigwigs raised the price for an expansion franchise to $1 million.
Timing is everything.
Then, there was the opening-night wager Gagnon had with Vern Danielsen, chairman of the Roanoke Civic Center Commission and a man who believed before most of us that as a hockey town, Roanoke didn't have to be a place with such a lack of warmth that it could melt the polar ice cap.
Danielsen bet a 25-year-old bottle of Scotch that the Express would attract an opening-night crowd of 6,000. It was a Tuesday, so Gagnon - hoping for more - went with 4,500. The attendance was 3,576.
Gagnon was wrong, but he took the fifth with the closer number. It was that kind of winter for the Express. Charmed, I'm sure.
After that dawn of a new ice age, the Express goes for seconds beginning today when training camp opens at the civic center. Gagnon hasn't yet broken the seal on that bottle, and he wants to bet Danielsen again.
However, pro hockey is less of a gamble in the Roanoke Valley now. There actually are men who can skate, wear helmets, carry sticks and chew gum at the same time who want to play here.
Players used to retire when told they were being traded to Roanoke. Frank Anzalone, the Express' no-nonsense coach, will have 37 players in training camp. He must cut to 18.
It may be his toughest job of the season. Shaving with cold water and a meat cleaver might be easier. A year ago, Roanoke was just looking for players. Now, the Express is just looking for good chemistry.
Yes, Roanoke has affiliations with the NHL's San Jose Sharks and the IHL's Minnesota Moose. Down on this farm, however, it is recruiting and a revamped reputation that has made a difference. It's because last season wasn't a Rampage Redux.
Although the Roanoke Valley ranks 17th among the 19 ECHL markets in population, the Express finished 10th in the attendance standings, averaging 4,653 per game.
``We were more than overwhelmed by the first season,'' Gagnon said. ``We worked hard, and it paid off.''
The Express, however, needs bigger numbers this season, and already it is getting some. Season ticket sales - 1,200 last year - are approaching 1,700, and corporate box sales are up to 23 from 19.
The club is spending 20 percent more on marketing than last season. Gagnon promises the same ``family atmosphere'' as last winter at the Roanoke Civic Center, a building ``that's in the top five in our league,'' he said.
At the start of last season, Express management figured an average attendance of 3,200 was needed to break even financially. As the season continued - and because a well-run club spends money to make money - that figure rose to 4,000.
The Express begins this season needing to average 4,400 fans per night to stay in the black. Gagnon is predicting an average of 5,500, primarily because the club has 19 Friday and Saturday night dates and five fewer Tuesday games than a season ago.
The club holds an open house at the civic center from noon-6 p.m. today, with an open training camp workout from 3:30-5 p.m. It's the kind of introductory offer the Express has learned sells more than tickets.
A year ago, the Express won at the box office by appealing to people who won't buy season tickets for another decade. It was a youth movement - driven by licensed moms and dads - that made for Express lines at the ticket windows.
The question for this season: Was the Express a one-year wonder? The preseason sales and interest say no. However, if the Express doesn't get a practice facility built soon, the franchise's affiliations and recruiting could be derailed.
A Roanoke club that went 38-27-3 on the ice should be improved, although it plays 56 of its 68 games in the ECHL's most competitive division, the East. While Anzalone is pushing buttons, Gagnon and Paiement are looking for a flag.
No, not an ECHL championship pennant. It is too early to expect one of those in the Roundhouse rafters. It's a pricey Canadian flag last season's ECHL Executives of the Year would like to find.
Gagnon wants the U.S. and Canadian national anthems both played before home games this season, and it seems he went to a large expense to buy a nice Canadian flag to hang in the civic center.
Gagnon then entrusted its keeping to his fellow French-Canadian executive. Except Paiement now can't find the flag, which means Gagnon can't fly the flag, which means he's wailing more than ``Oh, Canada!''
Perhaps Gagnon and Paiement should call that famous French detective, Clouseau. Until then, at least their franchise is flying high.
by CNB