Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, March 15, 1995 TAG: 9503150075
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: B3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: RALPH BERRIER JR. STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Hampton Roads, Richmond and South Carolina will remain in the ECHL, said Roanoke Express general manager Pierre Paiement, whose team also had been mentioned as a possible AHL member.
Officials from the teams in Charlotte and Greensboro ECHL said they will file applications for AHL franchises today.
Paiement said he spoke with Richmond president Harry Feuerstein and South Carolina president Marcel Dionne on Tuesday. Both told him they were staying in the ECHL. In addition, Paiement said he was told that Hampton Roads was withdrawing from consideration.
Paiement's statements appear to conflict with reports from other league sources. Howard Williams, a member of the ownership group of the Greensboro Monarchs, said Roanoke was being considered as a possible AHL candidate.
Paiement discounted that, saying the Express wanted to be involved in talks with the AHL last week, when it appeared Roanoke would be losing its main ECHL East Division rivals.
``When it looked like we would lose most of our division, we were interested,'' Paiement said. ``When we found out that South Carolina, Richmond and Hampton Roads pulled out [of the AHL picture], we were no longer interested.''
Earlier Tuesday, Hampton Roads joined Richmond, South Carolina and Raleigh, a late comer to the negotiations, in signing a letter to AHL president Dave Andrews asking for an additional 30 days to study moving up to the AHL.
Sources with the AHL indicate the extension might not be granted. The NHL's deadline for signing affiliations with AHL clubs is April 1. Andrews has told the ECHL clubs that he must know by then how many teams will be in the AHL.
Andrews met with representatives of the ECHL clubs for the first time Monday in Charlotte to spell out terms for moving up to the AHL. The terms included filing an application and a $55,000 fee by noon today.
Hampton Roads president Blake Cullen, who composed the letter to Andrews, said two days is not enough time to make such an important decision.
``I need time to look at some budget figures, to go to some AHL clubs and see what's out there,'' he said.
Harry Minium of Landmark News Service contributed information for this report.
by CNB