The "bumping rights" are an interesting feature.  Some rock groups may 
be surprised to see so many fans showing up in hockey jerseys.  Is that 
a common strategy in small towns struggling to max arena revenues?



Charlie Shub wrote:
>> From: James Bradshaw 
>> To: Erik Biever <[log in to unmask]>
>> CC: "[log in to unmask]" <[log in to unmask]>,
>> Date: Mon, 15 Feb 2010 19:14:51 -0500
>>
>> Sometimes the news is stranger than fiction.  See below for news
>> about the Chiefs. 
>>
>> The news accounts from various authoritative media sources.
>>
>> [From the primary newspaper in the Greenville market]
>> http://www.greenvilleonline.com/article/20100215/SPORTS/100215002/Greenville-Arena-board-votes-yes-to-bringing-hockey-franchise-here
>>
>> Professional hockey poised
>> to return to Greenville
>> By Nathaniel Cary * STAFF WRITER * February
>> 15, 2010
>> The slap shot could return to Greenville.
>> The Greenville Arena District plans to sign a five-
>> year agreement with the Johnstown Chiefs, a
>> Pennsylvania-based East Coast Hockey League team,
>> to move the team to Greenville for the 2010-11
>> season to begin in October, district board chairman
>> Bruce Cannon said.
>> The Chiefs franchise, namesakes of the 1977 small-
>> town hockey team in the movie, "Slap Shot," will
>> bring sticks, pucks, ice and nets back to the Bi-Lo
>> Center, which has been without hockey since the
>> Greenville Grrrowl folded following the 2005-06
>> season.
>> "Everybody knows the Chiefs," Cannon said, though
>> he didn't know if the team would keep the same
>> name.
>> Neil Smith, the team's principal owner and interim
>> coach, cited six-figure financial losses last year and
>> an average of fewer than 2,000 fans per game this
>> season as reasons that led him to seek a new home
>> The Chiefs play in the East Coast Hockey League, the
>> same 20-team minor league that included the
>> Grrrowl.
>> The Bi-Lo Center entertained offers from teams in
>> several leagues but chose the Chiefs, Cannon said,
>> adding that hockey could again become popular in
>> Greenville.
>> "They seem to feel that it will work again and we
>> agree with them," he said. "We've had a lot of
>> inquiries through the Bi-Lo Center and just in
>> general talk from people who are certainly interested
>> in hockey in Greenville."
>> Cannon credited the Grrrowl with showing that
>> hockey could catch on in the South. The Grrrowl
>> averaged 7,000 spectators per game in its first year
>> in 1998 and won the Kelly Cup, the league's title in
>> 2002. But declining attendance doomed the 
>> franchise, which drew 2,500 fans per game in its
>> final season.
>> The demographic in Greenville has changed since
>> then with an influx of business and industry
>> bringing people to the Upstate who grew up playing
>> hockey and would make it an "attractive sport" for
>> Greenville, Cannon said.
>> Arena officials also felt more in control of
>> negotiations because they were willing to "walk a
>> way from hockey" if the finances didn't work, he
>> said.
>>
>> The deal represents less risk for the arena because
>> the team would be a tenant and not a core piece of
>> the building's operating agreement and guarantor
>> on the arena's debt like the Grrrowl was, board
>> member Ty Thornhill said.
>> The arena also holds a "bumping right" to switch
>> hockey dates if the arena has a chance to book a
>> headline concert, said Roger Newton, Bi-Lo Center
>> general manager.
>> "We're not in the hockey business, we're in the
>> arena business," Cannon said. "So if we can rent the
>> arena to facilitate hockey we'd do that. If we could
>> play baseball in the arena, we'd play baseball in the
>> arena."
>> Arena officials looked at the Greenville Drive as a
>> financial model and stressed affordable prices.
>> The Bi-Lo Center likely would block off the top bowl
>> of the arena to limit seating to 6,000, except for
>> special promotional nights, Newton said.
>> The arena district board hasn't released lease terms
>> pending approval of the memorandum of
>> understanding and wouldn't officially announce the
>> team's arrival until it has received ECHL Board of
>> Governors approval to move, which likely would
>> take place later this week, Cannon said.
>> The team has played in Johnstown since 1988 and
>> now plays at the Cambria County War Memorial
>> Arena. It is one of only five original ECHL teams that
>> have played in the same location since the league
>> formed in 1988-89.
>> The team's owners said financial considerations
>> were the sole reason for the proposed move and left
>> open the possibility that the team could be sold to
>> any potential ownership group that would keep
>> professional hockey in Johnstown. No group has
>> stepped forward.
>>
>> The Johnstown perspective:
>> http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/sports/article/ECHL-Johnstown-Chiefs-seek-move-to-South-Carolina-365866.php
>>
>> ECHL Johnstown Chiefs seek move to South Carolina
>> Published: 05:17 p.m., Monday, February 15, 2010
>>
>> JOHNSTOWN, Pa. (AP) - The minor-league Johnstown Chiefs, citing
>> economic concerns, have announced plans to relocate to Greenville,
>> S.C., beginning next season. The team said Monday on its Web site
>> that it was seeking permission from the East Coast Hockey League for
>> the move. The Chiefs say they are in discussions to play at the
>> Bi-Lo Center in Greenville. Average attendance this year dipped
>> below 2,000 people per game, and the team says financial losses
>> reached the six-figure level last year. The Chiefs have played in
>> Johnstown since 1988 and plan to finish the current season at the
>> Cambria County War Memorial. The owners say they are still willing
>> to help potential buyers interested in keeping the Chiefs in
>> Johnstown. 
>>
>> and 
>> http://www.wjactv.com/news/22565056/detail.html
>>
>>     
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