Hockey proposal on pretty thin iceJuly 3, 2003 |
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Hockey proposal on pretty thin iceJuly 3, 2003 |
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By Jack Corcoran
DEMOCRAT STAFF WRITER
The Civic Center Authority gave minor league hockey the cold shoulder Wednesday after director Ron Spencer urged the board to stick to key elements of the arena's lease proposal.
The impasse all but signaled an end to the World Hockey Association 2's hopes of adding Tallahassee for its inaugural season.
WHA2 president Peter Young, incredulous that the board wouldn't budge on demands for a $300,000 letter of credit, admitted after the meeting he expected a warmer reception.
"I expected them to say, 'Hey, we like the professionalism your group has, we like what you do in the community, we like the charities you're involved with and we know you have strong ownership groups. We'd like to really keep talking,'" Young said. "We didn't hear that."
Still, Young and Spencer agreed to talk again. But, even if a lease agreement could somehow be reached, the board would still need to be convinced the time is right for hockey to return.
"We have our hands full with a hotel project, which is going to be a major consumer of time, resources and staff," said board member John Carnaghi, senior vice president for finance and administration at Florida State. He also chairs the arena's finance committee.
Carnaghi said the board should take a wait-and-see approach with the WHA2, which has six franchises lined up for the 2003-04 season. He also reminded the board of last year's fiasco with the start-up Atlantic Coast Hockey League, which pulled out of Tallahassee after unveiling a logo and even moving into the arena's offices.
With retaining suite holders in mind, board member Ron LaFace said hockey is worth exploring. But LaFace said he remains skeptical.
"I am not very enthusiastic about hockey again only because 30 dates - we know Elton John could pay more money in one night in those 30 dates than the hockey team wants to pay all year," LaFace said.
The Civic Center has prospered with more scheduling flexibility since the Tallahassee Tiger Sharks left town following the 2000-01 season. The arena reported a net profit of $972,223 for the budget year as of May 31, marking a 78-percent increase from the same point last year.
Spencer, who contends hockey and financial success aren't necessarily mutually exclusive, proposed a three-year lease that called for $5,000 per game in rent and the team to pay for arena staffing (approximately $4,000-5,000 per game). The $300,000 letter of credit would reduce by $100,000 each year.
The World Hockey Association Founders Group e-mailed a counterproposal June 16, asking for, among other things, $6,500 in rent with staffing included. Instead of a letter of credit, the group proposed a $25,000 deposit, plus contributing the first $25,000 in ticket sales.
The letter of credit is the biggest sticking point. The arena required the Tiger Sharks to put up a $900,000 letter when they agreed to a 10-year lease in 1994. The team received $90,000 back after each season.
"If we would not have had that letter of credit in place with Mr. (Dave) Elmore, I think we would have been threatened and intimidated to move the team much sooner than it started," Spencer said. "We actually had enough money in there to kind of hold his feet to the fire. So in my opinion this is a good, sound business practice for us to continue."
Young scoffed at the demand.
"There isn't a team in minor pro sports that has a $300,000 line of credit," Young said.