DATE: Thursday, May 29, 1997                TAG: 9705290654

SECTION: SPORTS                  PAGE: C1   EDITION: FINAL 

SOURCE: BY HARRY MINIUM, STAFF WRITER 

DATELINE: NORFOLK                           LENGTH:   81 lines

AHL AGAIN EYES HAMPTON ROADS

Hampton Roads Admirals co-owner Page Johnson says he will meet with Los Angeles Kings acting general manager Dave Taylor today in California to discuss a working agreement that could lead to the Admirals' jumping to the American Hockey League.

The Kings are seeking an AHL affiliate for the 1998-99 season and contacted the Admirals recently about moving up from the East Coast Hockey League. The Kings would like to become part-owners of the franchise, Johnson said.

Johnson said he and majority owner Mark Garcea are open to the Kings' purchasing a portion of the franchise because it would give the NHL team a vested interest in the team's on-ice success.

The Admirals, whose lease expires after the 1997-98 season, aren't the only team that has discussed putting an AHL team in Scope. The Detroit Red Wings have contacted Norfolk officials about moving their AHL affiliate, the Adirondack Red Wings, from Glens Falls, N.Y., to Norfolk in 1998.

The Red Wings are owned by Michael Ilitch, whose family also owns the Detroit Tigers, Little Caesars Pizza and Olympia Entertainment Inc., a sports management group. Olympia - which manages Tiger Stadium, Joe Lewis Arena and the Detroit Zoo - has also approached the city about managing Scope and Chrysler Hall.

The Red Wings first brought hockey to Norfolk in 1971 - the Virginia Red Wings of the AHL. The team folded in 1975 after averaging 3,191 spectators per game for four years, less than half what the Admirals have averaged in their eight seasons.

Mark Cory, group vice president for Olympia, says he flew to Norfolk in March and met with city officials, including Mayor Paul D. Fraim, and toured Scope.

Fraim said he listened to the Red Wings but says the city has not entered into negotiations with the Ilitch family. Earlier this month, the Red Wings sent a letter to Charlie Bauman, Norfolk's economic development director, saying they wanted to begin negotiations, but Norfolk has not responded.

Cory said the Red Wings were attracted to Hampton Roads by the region's failed effort to land an NHL expansion franchise.

``We thought it would be a good idea to take a look at the region,'' he said. ``It has a lot of potential.''

He described his talks with city officials as ``very preliminary . . . exploratory in nature.''

The Ilitches' net worth is estimated at $625 million by Forbes Magazine. Little Caesars, which has 5,000 franchises, had $2 billion in sales in 1996.

Los Angeles lost its primary minor league affiliate last month when the Phoenix Roadrunners of the International Hockey League folded. The Kings will send players next season to Montreal's farm team in Fredericton, New Brunswick, but say they need a primary affiliate for 1998.

Johnson will fly this morning from Las Vegas, where the ECHL's spring meetings are being held, to Los Angeles to meet Taylor.

Garcea said the Admirals are happy in the ECHL but have been considering a move to the AHL for months.

He said the Admirals had nearly cut a deal for a franchise swap with the Pittsburgh Penguins that would have moved an AHL team to Scope and the Admirals' ECHL franchise elsewhere. But when the Hartford Whalers announced they were moving to North Carolina, the Penguins ceased negotiations with the Admirals and moved their franchise to Hartford.

Garcea said Fraim and City Councilman Randy Wright encouraged the Admirals to consider moving up to the AHL during a meeting in March.

``We told them we're going to explore every option we can about moving to the AHL,'' he said. ``At the time, we were talking to the Penguins. Now we're talking to the Kings.''

But he said the financial numbers have to work for the team to commit to the AHL. Garcea said the team made only a minimal profit this season in spite of having its best record and advancing through two rounds of the playoffs.

An AHL budget can be as much as $1 million per year higher than in the ECHL, depending on the affiliation agreement, which means ticket prices would have to rise, Garcea said.

Admirals ticket prices are increasing by up to $2 next season from $8. Garcea said Scope's relatively small size (9,010 seats for hockey) and lack of luxury suites, advertising venues and club seating limit the team's ability to increase revenue.

``We want to move up, we want this to go to the next level,'' he said. ``But we don't want to be here today and gone tomorrow because nobody can afford the ticket prices.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo

Michael Ilitch

Send Suggestions or Comments to webmaster@scholar.lib.vt.edu