THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Sunday, March 26, 1995 TAG: 9503260403
SECTION: SPORTS PAGE: C16 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BOB MOLINARO
LENGTH: Medium: 71 lines
A small segment of people is transfixed and troubled by the apparent refusal of Blake Cullen to move his Hampton Roads Admirals to a higher minor league. Some insist that nothing less than the welfare and image of our community are at stake.
Then there's the majority of our citizens, who, like the one billion Chinese, don't care a rusty skate one way or the other.
However, for those who monitor the frozen pond, there is concern that Cullen's cautious approach comes at the expense of fans who want to see higher quality competition than the East Coast Hockey League can offer.
Among the lobbyists in this group is Paul Fraim, mayor of Norfolk. Hizzoner was one of the driving forces behind the building of Harbor Park, which turned a sleepy Triple-A baseball franchise into a very hot property.
Fraim contends that an American Hockey League team for Norfolk would ``facilitate the occurrence one day of a National Hockey League franchise.'' He believes that it would be ``easier'' to move from the AHL than from the ECHL.
Actually, our experience with the Norfolk Tides proves this theory to be incorrect.
The presence of the Tides has not moved Hampton Roads one inch closer to big-league status, just as a traditionally successful Triple-A operation in Richmond has never put the state capital on major league baseball's expansion list.
If the commonwealth gets a baseball team, it will be based in Northern Virginia, which has no real sports tradition.
What Northern Virginia has are people and money. Lots and lots of people with extremely healthy incomes.
It's a long shot, but if Norfolk were ever awarded an NHL franchise, it would be because the city built a large arena and provided the usual overly generous financial inducements.
Its history in minor-league hockey would have little, if anything, to do with it.
The feasibility of a new arena is a story for another day. For now, Scope seems to suit the Admirals just fine, just as the Admirals seem to more than satisfy the appetite of a small, but rabid, fan base.
Will Admirals' tickets continue to be reasonably priced?
Will the beer be cold?
Will the games deliver enough fistfights to keep a certain element coming back?
Then why should Cullen be expected to gamble with his own money in search of a better product?
Better may not even be the relevant adjective, for an AHL franchise does not guarantee a winner. What if the Norfolk franchise were affiliated with a badly run NHL team? With higher ticket prices, would as many fans turn out at Scope to watch a loser?
Many hockey fans share no such concern. Cullen has the phone calls to prove it.
Still, shouldn't the steeper ticket prices that come along with the bigger AHL budget be a serious consideration?
Ask yourself what in this community's history indicates that fans would be willing to support pricier sports?
Of course, the Admirals could yet move up. If enough ECHL franchises ultimately opt for the AHL, Cullen may have no other choice. He'll have to go along.
But until the final chapter of this story has been written, an irony persists.
For now, the Admirals' success at the gate while playing in the ECHL is a good argument for Cullen not to take a risk.
Why fix what isn't broken? by CNB