THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, July 17, 1994 TAG: 9407170176
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C15 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 76 lines
Charlotte officials say they're seeking an NHL franchise after just one season in the East Coast Hockey League.
Carl Scheer, president of the Charlotte Checkers, is trying to bring an NHL team to Charlotte, reports the Gaston Gazette of Gastonia, N.C.
Scheer also is general manager of the NBA's Charlotte Hornets, which sells out all of their games at the 23,698-seat Charlotte Coliseum.
``We are very much interested in acquiring an NHL franchise,'' Scheer said. ``We did very well last year in Charlotte. There's no question we can move up to the NHL.''
Charlotte was second in the ECHL in attendance with an average of 8,130 spectators per game last season at the 9,475-seat Independence Arena. The Checkers had nine sellouts. An NHL exhibition game between Philadelphia and Boston also sold out.
Charlotte is home to the ECHL's corporate headquarters.
Charlotte and Phoenix have been mentioned in the Canadian media as potential sites if the NHL's Winnipeg Jets relocate. The Jets are demanding a new, $111 million arena that Winnipeg officials have balked at building.
The Jets will play at least one more season in Winnipeg, but if a new arena isn't in the offing, they might move in 1995-96.
Seattle, Portland, Houston, Atlanta and Minneapolis are on the long list of cities that are candidates for a relocated NHL franchise. Because the league has awarded five expansion franchises the last two seasons, no further expansion is expected this century.
Hampton Roads has not been mentioned as a potential site for Winnipeg or any other franchise looking to relocate even though the Admirals have been the ECHL's traditional attendance leader. The Admirals averaged 7,591 per game last season. Hampton Roads, with a population of 1.5 million, is also larger than Charlotte.
But Hampton Roads won't be a serious NHL candidate until it builds another arena, or has firm plans to build one.
Scope, with a seating capacity of 8,990 for hockey, is too small for the NHL, and there are no plans to build a larger arena in Hampton Roads.
The Charlotte Coliseum would be a ready-made home for the NHL, even though $1 million would be required to ready the arena for hockey. Phoenix, Seattle, Portland, Houston, Atlanta and Minneapolis all have arenas suitable for the NHL.
NEW OWNERS: The Richmond Renegades have changed owners for the third time in a year. A Washington-based ownership group headed by banker Harry Feuerstein bought the Renegades from David Elmore for about $1 million. The new group includes former Washington Capitals forward Craig Laughlin.
Elmore acquired the franchise last summer from Allan B. Harvin Jr., who founded the team. Elmore, who lost a reported $250,000 last season in Richmond, had considered relocating the franchise. He decided to leave the franchise in Richmond after renegotiating his lease with the Richmond Coliseum.
Elmore also owns five minor league baseball and two minor league hockey teams, including the ECHL's Tallahassee (Fla.) Tiger Sharks, which recently moved from Huntsville, Ala. League bylaws required him to sell the majority interest in either the Richmond or Tallahassee franchises.
The sale of the Renegades still must be approved by the ECHL's board of governors.
NEW COACHES: Rick Barkovich has been named head coach of the Raleigh IceCaps and the Tiger Sharks named Terry Christensen their first coach.
Christensen coached the last three seasons with Detroit in the Colonial Hockey League. He was an assistant coach for 10 years at Michigan State University, including the 1986 season, when the Spartans won the national title.
Tallahassee has sold more than 1,000 season tickets, slightly less than the final average attendance last season in Huntsville.
Barkovich replaces Kurt Kleinendorst, who resigned to become an assistant with the San Diego Gulls of the International Hockey League.
Barkovich was a player-assistant coach with the IceCaps for two of the last three seasons. He played four seasons in the IHL before going to Raleigh. by CNB