Thursday, December 18, 1997

Minor league hockey takes second look at Abilene

By AL PICKETT / Sports Editor

Minor league hockey is once again looking to move to Abilene.

Barry Bergstrom, the director of franchise development for the Western Professional Hockey League, was in Abilene Wednesday to meet with Tony McMillan, general manager of the Expo Center of Taylor County.

WPHL officials first visited Abilene more than two years ago, prior to the league's inaugural season. But talks never reached the negotiating stage as the WPHL opened with teams in six cities.

The minor league expanded to 12 teams this year, and Bergstrom said the WPHL hopes to have 18 teams in the 1998-99 season.

Bergstrom called Wednesday's meeting "exploratory."

"But we're prepared to do what we can to get in here, either next year or the year after," he said.

The WPHL currently has teams in Fort Worth, Austin, Belton, Waco, El Paso, Amarillo, San Angelo and Odessa in Texas; Shreveport, Monroe and Lake Charles in Louisiana; and Albuquerque, N.M.

Bergstrom said the league already has commitments for new franchises in Corpus Christi, Little Rock, Ark., and Alexandria, La., next year.

"We're also close to two more -- one in Texas and one in a state north of here," he said, declining to name the cities. "We hope one of the 18 teams we have next year is in Abilene."

Bergstrom said if dates for use of the Taylor County Coliseum can be worked out, he would like to have the announcement of a lease for the facility and the acquisition of local ownership -- which would be only partial ownership -- by March 1.

There are several major hurdles to clear, however, before minor league hockey comes to Abilene:

n Ice. Ice-making equipment would have to be installed in the coliseum.

"We've had to put ice in every building we're in," said Bergstrom.

Although he said that's not a problem, that is an expense of at least $300,000 for either the league or the Expo Center to incur. The facility would also have to be closed for a month for the concrete floor to be taken out and ice-making equipment installed under it.

n Scheduling. The WPHL plays a 70-game schedule. That's 35 home dates. With preseason exhibition games included, at least 40 dates would have to be blocked off at the coliseum.

"That would be hard to come by," McMillan said. "The coliseum was used 160 days last year."

Many of those 160 days in the coliseum were used for equestrian events, which included rental of horse stalls and produced high profits for the Expo Center. For example, a 16-day cutting event which begins Dec. 27 is expected to be one of the largest ever held in Abilene.

Bergstrom said the league does not like to have a team away from home more than a week at a time. Obviously, that would be impossible in late December and early January.

n Beer sales. The WPHL currently has beer sales in all 12 of its cities. However, alcohol sale and consumption is not allowed in the Taylor County Coliseum.

"Our Expo Center board and the commissioners' court have preferred this be a non-alcohol building," McMillan said. "They have wanted a family-oriented atmosphere. That's been the philosophy of the board and the commissioners' court."

Bergstrom said no beer sales "wouldn't be a breaker" for a deal, although it certainly increases the profitability for a franchise which would have about $1.5 million per year in operating costs.

"No beer is not an insurmountable problem to still putting a team here," he said.

Bergstrom claims the league is averaging 4,000 per game attendance, ranging from Belton and Waco which are averaging fewer than 3,500 per game to Austin which is drawing more than 6,000 hockey fans per game.

"Hockey would really add to the city," Bergstrom said, "and the opportunity is there because we want to expand."