The Dub in Chilliwack!!

[amisk]

I heard the Ams are on the move. Is it a good thing for the W.H.L.? and the Giants? Chiefs? Attendance?

[almosttyme4hockey]

It's a rumor indeed, but it could happen

How far is Chilliwack from Vancouver?

[Chipper]

If it does happen they could just as easly end up in Edmonton. who's got the deepest pockets? Gentleman Lets start the bidding at three million.

[HAF]

Almost everything I've heard on this issue has been online. very little has been said about this locally. It is my hope that this is just a rumor or a scare tactic in order to get a better lease renewell on the Three Rivers Coliseum from the City of Kennewick.
I guess we're all waiting on monday to get here to find out for sure. Dont count your chickens before they hatch. I dont think Our Am's are going anywhere, However this was in this mornings Tri City Herald

Ams may be on the move
This story was published Sunday, March 6th, 2005

By Annie Fowler, Herald staff writer

The Tri-City Americans have a decision to make by the end of this month.

A move to Edmonton. A new life in Chilliwack. A few more seasons at Three Rivers Coliseum.

A story in Friday's Vancouver Sun set the Tri-City Americans up in all three situations, and team owner/president Darryl Porter doesn't deny he's explored options outside the Tri-Cities.

"The gist of the article is accurate," Porter said from his Vancouver, British Columbia, home. "We don't know what to do right now. The Chilliwack deal is, they have a nice 3,700-seat place there and we've been talk-ing, but they aren't sure they want to, or if they have the wherewithal to do it. It's partially owned by the city and things like this have to go through council."

The Chilliwack, British Columbia, arena, Prospera Centre, seats just 3,700 fans -- which is not near the capacity for a Western Hockey League team. Prospera Centre is home to the popular Chilliwack Chiefs of the BCHL. The Chiefs' attendance is the best in the Canadian Junior Hockey League with an average of 2,700 per game.

Porter estimated that it would cost about $2 million to make the Chilliwack rink viable for a WHL team.

"We have to declare to the league by March 31 what we are going to do," Porter said. "That's a drop-dead date that is very real. I don't know if (Chilliwack) could even start to make decisions like that in the next week or two."

The Edmonton Oilers have been in the market for a WHL team for more than a year, with no takers. The Americans are just one of the teams the Oilers have contacted, but they weren't persuasive enough for Porter and the rest of the ownership group, which includes former Vancouver Canucks general manager Brian Burke, New York Rangers GM Glen Sather and Tri-City GM Bob Tory.

The Sun reported Edmonton's offer to be rumored at $5 million, but Porter indicated that while the offer was a league high, it was less.

"We turned down Edmonton on Monday," Porter said. "They were offering a league-record amount for a WHL team, but we like the league, the owners and we don't want to get out of the WHL, if at all possible."

That leaves the Tri-Cities, where the team has been since Ron Dixon moved the franchise to Kennewick from New Westminster, British Columbia, in 1988. But the team hasn't had much success over the past 17 years, moving past the first round of the playoffs only four times, including last season. The Americans have missed the playoffs four times.

"I'm not about to mislead anyone," Porter said. "We are confused about what to do. At the end of the day, we have great fans, but do we have enough of them? The 2,500 fans we have are so loyal and our corporate sponsors are loyal. But our growth has all come from within since we bought the team. All the programs we have tried to sell more tickets in the last three years have failed.

"We have lost money every year and costs in the league are going up. The lease they are offering us is really good and we appreciate that. We are still just trying to make a decision."

The City of Kennewick and Compass Facility Management, who runs the day-to-day operations of Three Rivers Coliseum, are close to signing a three-year contract with the Americans, and Compass executive director John Sellers said they have set a deadline of March 15.

"Darryl and I met recently and talked about the various issues," Sellers said. "We worked for six months putting together what we thought was best for both our groups, and I think it is a good deal for them. They are important to the community and we want them here, but at the same time, we want it to be good business for both of us."

Porter admitted the team's lack of success earlier this season may play a part of the decline in attendance, which is just under last season.

"We are disappointed we haven't played better," Porter said of his team that is 23-31-7-3 going into its game tonight in Portland. "We don't have the data we wanted for this year. Our team came out and struggled. We wonder what attendance might be like had we had a better season. But Brian has said, 'If you need to be in first place to have a good attendance, show us the exit door.'

"We have 300 more season tickets holders than last year, and we are drawing less than last year. That means our walk-up has gone down. Those are the facts. We are at a crossroads."

One at which Sellers hopes Porter and his partners take the road to Kennewick. "I'm still confident that we have given them room to be a progressive and good contributor to the community," Sellers said. "I hope they sign up. If they don't make that commitment, we are moving forward, but we want them to be here."

n Annie Fowler can be reached at 582-1574 or via e-mail at afowler@tri-cityherald.com.

[The_Vulk]

Rumours dealing with the Tri-Cities Americans have been ongoing for some time now.

As it goes, if any of the DUB's teams were to relocate, it would be this team, first and foremost.

Guess the spectre hanging over the team has not helped.

[Jovorock]

It's a rumor indeed, but it could happen

How far is Chilliwack from Vancouver?
I think its about a hour, probly two during rush hour?

[Beaner]

I think its about a hour, probly two during rush hour?

Its about 70 odd miles from Vancouver.

[fightstrap50]

:confused: why would they even consider Chilliwack as a home as there are five BC division teams here already :confused: , is there not another suitable home for them in the states close to where they are now? I dont really know the area at all, but this would be a stupid choice to move to, would they still play in the US division? The Ice already play an unbalanced schedule as it is in the BC division,what would happen to this if the AM's moved to BC, would we play back in the central division again? if they moved to Edmonton this would definetly put the Ice back in the BC division for all games and we could lose our team here because of that reason alone :burningma as it is not ecconimically viable for our team to travel so much in BC and the US as it is through the Central and east divisions, if we moved into a full time BC schedule there'd be no fun in it for the other BC teams as we be kickin a$$ the whole time LOL :thumb:

[almosttyme4hockey]

Its about 70 odd miles from Vancouver.

All right. I have been in Chilliwack before driving from the States. I always thought they were a suburb of Greater Vancouver

[HAF]

:confused: why would they even consider Chilliwack as a home as there are five BC division teams here already :confused: , is there not another suitable home for them in the states close to where they are now? I dont really know the area at all, but this would be a stupid choice to move to, would they still play in the US division? The Ice already play an unbalanced schedule as it is in the BC division,what would happen to this if the AM's moved to BC, would we play back in the central division again? if they moved to Edmonton this would definetly put the Ice back in the BC division for all games and we could lose our team here because of that reason alone :burningma as it is not ecconimically viable for our team to travel so much in BC and the US as it is through the Central and east divisions, if we moved into a full time BC schedule there'd be no fun in it for the other BC teams as we be kickin a$$ the whole time LOL :thumb:


Personally, I think either Eugene,Or or Salem,Or would both be great choices if they did indeed move. They are both right on I - 5 and would make a great rival for Portland. I hope they do stay put though.

[grumphy]

Looking @ this whole situation from the league's point of view, I would think the Dub would try very hard to keep the team in the U.S. Other wise how do you do a realighnment to come anyware close to the balance we have now,(main reson for Everett). If that could not be done I think they would opt for another team in west BC to straighten up the BC & central scheduling. I personally can not see Chilliwak as a destination due to the proximity of Vancouver as well as a very inadaquate building. The costs of upgrading the building to the present standards would be very high and could not possibbly be completed for the coming season. And I'm pretty sure Porter would not foot that bill. :)
I can not see Edmonton either because that would leave the central or east with six teams and still no resolve to the BC situation.
I really don't believe Porter has the option to relocate to what ever venue he choices, a lot more will have to go into the decission from a lot of different parties. Tough call no matter how it's cut. Sure hope they stay where they are at.

[Jovorock]

I have a feeling that the Tri owner is bluffing to get a better lease from the local authorities. But if he isn't and Chilliwack could stay in the US div and play a little more than four games verses Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamkloops?

[grumphy]

I have a feeling that the Tri owner is bluffing to get a better lease from the local authorities. But if he isn't and Chilliwack could stay in the US div and play a little more than four games verses Vancouver, Kelowna and Kamkloops?
Sorta cumbersome though, a US division team north of a BC division team :) -----would probbaly work but like I said kinda funny. Still think it would be best for the league to be able to roust the Ams somewhere in the states.

[RunTheGoalie]

Edmonton is feasable, though not pretty.

Shift the Giants into a new "South" division, shift Lethbridge into a "West" division, Edmonton takes the vacated spot in the Central. Maintain an unbalanced schedule that sees the Giants and Canes continue to play several games against their traditional provincial rivals.

Such a move would probably necessitate abandoning the divisional playoff alignment for round one entirely.

Adding Chilliwack would be simple. Either Vancouver or Chilliwack shifts south.

[Beaner]

Maybe they would just do a whole realignment if this comes to pass.

Coastal Division
Vancouver
Chilliwack
Everett
Seattle
Portland

West Division
Kootney
Kelowna
Kamloops
Prince George
Spokane

Just a thought.

[grumphy]

That split seems to make some sense. sure would increase the milage for the west teams unless they leaned even heavier toward the unbalanced scheduling, witch is not much of a fan favorite and sure blows up the division rivalries that the Dub has tried so hard to build. The rivalries are what really add to the attendence numbers in most small markets.

[Beaner]

That split seems to make some sense. sure would increase the milage for the west teams unless they leaned even heavier toward the unbalanced scheduling, witch is not much of a fan favorite and sure blows up the division rivalries that the Dub has tried so hard to build. The rivalries are what really add to the attendence numbers in most small markets.

I dont think the travel is that much worse really.

Spokane is

Closer to Kootney than Vancouver.
A little further from Kelowna and Kamloops.
And still an ugly trip for Prince George.

The teams on the Coast would save a lot of travel.

The rivalries will quickly rebuild themselves.

[grumphy]

Koots would like to tranfer to the central now and basically plays more games in the central than in the BC division------I think this is due to a milage issue but could easly have the wrong slant on it.

[RunTheGoalie]

No, it is the mileage. Kootenay is closer to Spokane, Lethbridge, Calgary and I believe Medicine Hat than they are to any other BC division team.

The remote locations of Cranbrook, Portland, Prince George and Brandon means that all four are going to have horrible travel schedules no matter what the alignment.

I suppose one could go with a 6-5-5-4 alignment... Saskatchewan, Alberta+Kootenay, BC, US, but that isnt really ideal.

[Sput]

Doesn't really make any difference to us in PG. The travel is going to be hellish which ever way its cut. Even if Edmonton gets a Dub team (which I highly doubt IMHO) its still a 6-8 hour bus ride for the nearest road game. No wonder we are the only team the OWNS their bus.

[fightstrap50]

and what a sweet bus it is i must say! i didnt know your team actually owned it,thats a bonus you should see ours! lol GO ICE GO!!!

[Beaner]

No, it is the mileage. Kootenay is closer to Spokane, Lethbridge, Calgary and I believe Medicine Hat than they are to any other BC division team.

You are Correct.

However, Vancouver and Kootney are both about the same travel Distance to PG, yet Vancouver plays PG 8 times a year, and Kootney plays them 4.

The thing I don't understand is that Prince George manages to make the travel work in the BC Division, why can't/won't Kootney?

I'm not looking for a tonne of games against Kootney but it would be nice to see them play Vancouver more than 3 times a year. And they should at the very least be playing Conference/Division games at this time of the year.

[fightstrap50]

the ICE are not a large budget team to start with, the geographic location of Cranbrook actually puts them closer to Medicine Hat than even Kamloops or Kelowna PG does not play us here in Cranbrook much either so its not like they make the trip here often too. its a 16 or 17 hour bus ride there from Cranbrook, how long of a drive is it for Vancouver anyways, i dont know. We do however play quite a few conference games with the US division too. 6 against Spokane,4 with Tri-city,3 with Evt,3 with Sea3 with Portland. so 19 US games. and 15 in the BC division, central and east together is 38 games, so we are split up all over the place in a way. GO ICE GO!!! :groovy:

[Beaner]

the ICE are not a large budget team to start with, the geographic location of Cranbrook actually puts them closer to Medicine Hat than even Kamloops or Kelowna PG does not play us here in Cranbrook much either so its not like they make the trip here often too

Yeah, I understand all that with Cranbrook.


its a 16 or 17 hour bus ride there from Cranbrook, how long of a drive is it for Vancouver anyways, i dont know.

The trip to PG from Vancouver is about 500-550 miles; depends wether they take the HWY 5 or they take HWY 1 at Hope. I did a check on microsoft streets and tips, Cranbrook, is either 750 miles to PG if they go thru Kelowna, or 550 miles if they go through Jasper and and Golden to get there via HWY 93.

To be honest, I have never taken HWY 93 so, I'm guessing that it isn't the route that they take, probably due to Safety Issues.

So even though "technically" Vancouver and Cranbrook are about the same driving distance to PG, I guess that isn't really a fair comparison.

Strangely enough, Vancouver is 525 miles to Cranbrook, or basically the same travel distance as PG.


We do however play quite a few conference games with the US division too. 6 against Spokane,4 with Tri-city,3 with Evt,3 with Sea3 with Portland. so 19 US games. and 15 in the BC division, central and east together is 38 games, so we are split up all over the place in a way.

Well, looking at all those stats, it really does look they are trying to save on travel. Maybe the solution is to play more Double headers. A lot of teams do it when they go to PG, there is no reason why Kootney couldnt get the same arrangement going for their BC Division rivals. Vancouver plays PG 4 times in PG but its only 2 trips.

I said this before, but at the very least they should be playing a majority of Division games at the end of year. It sure would have been nice to see Kootney/Kelowna games at this time of the year to detirmin first in the division/league, and facing the other teams to detirmn final standings.

Vancouver hasn't played Kootney since November 14th. :( Mind you we are 0-3 in those games......

[Rooselk]

It's a rumor indeed, but it could happen

How far is Chilliwack from Vancouver?

Though this has already been answered, let me just add that Chilliwack is certainly further from Vancouver than Everett is from Seattle. If two WHL teams can prosper in the Puget Sound area then I'm sure that teams in both Vancouver and Chilliwack would do just fine. While I hope that the Tri-Cities will be able to keep their team, given my location, I must admit that it would be nice to have a fourth WHL team within easy driving distance.

[The_Vulk]

Well, they have officially notified the WHL of their entent to relocate.

Now 75% of the teams must approve this move.

So, to jump the gun they it does get approval, what do you think the new team should be called?

[LifelongChiefsFan]

I heard the Ams are on the move. Is it a good thing for the W.H.L.? and the Giants? Chiefs? Attendance?

This move could really hurt Spokane. It will mean longer road trips and increased travel costs. Tri-City was also the only team that could draw a sellout crowd (besides the final game of the season) so a drop in attendance is likely. Finally the new division the Chiefs get put it (Kel, Koot, Kam, PG if that happens) would be alot tougher for Spokane at least for the next couple of years anyway.

[Rooselk]

This move could really hurt Spokane. It will mean longer road trips and increased travel costs. Tri-City was also the only team that could draw a sellout crowd (besides the final game of the season) so a drop in attendance is likely. Finally the new division the Chiefs get put it (Kel, Koot, Kam, PG if that happens) would be alot tougher for Spokane at least for the next couple of years anyway.

LifelongChiefsFan, with the relocation of the Ams, Kootenay would be the natural rivalry for the Chiefs. The driving distance to Cranbrook from Spokane is not all that much farther than the driving distance from Spokane to the Tri-Cities. And as I've mentioned before, historically Spokane's rivals were teams located in cities like Trail, Nelson, and Cranbrook. That's the way it was when I was a kid growing up in Spokane. But for the Chiefs sake, with the loss of the Ams, it would seem critical that the Ice now be moved to the same division as Spokane. Personally, I like the idea that has been suggested that a "west division" be created that would include Spokane, Kootenay, Kamloops, Kelowna, and Prince George.

BTW, although I am Tips fan, the Chiefs remain my "second team." I have a lot of good memories of watching hockey played in the old Spokane Coliseum.

[LifelongChiefsFan]

LifelongChiefsFan, with the relocation of the Ams, Kootenay would be the natural rivalry for the Chiefs. The driving distance to Cranbrook from Spokane is not all that much farther than the driving distance from Spokane to the Tri-Cities. And as I've mentioned before, historically Spokane's rivals were teams located in cities like Trail, Nelson, and Cranbrook. That's the way it was when I was a kid growing up in Spokane. But for the Chiefs sake, with the loss of the Ams, it would seem critical that the Ice now be moved to the same division as Spokane. Personally, I like the idea that has been suggested that a "west division" be created that would include Spokane, Kootenay, Kamloops, Kelowna, and Prince George.

BTW, although I am Tips fan, the Chiefs remain my "second team." I have a lot of good memories of watching hockey played in the old Spokane Coliseum.

I do know that Spokane has had rivals with teams from Cranbrook etc in the past, I'm not disputing that. It would also make sense that the Chiefs new rival would be Kootenay, the Chiefs and Kootenay have had some really good games against each other already including the 2000 League Finals, plus as it has been mentioned, they would be the closest team to Spokane. The point I am trying to make is that the Americans relocating could hurt the Chiefs franchise in the next few years. You could count on the Chiefs to sell out games (or very close to it) against Tri-City every time. Although the Chiefs did sell out the final game of the year against Kootenay, they always sell out the last game no matter who its against. Even though games against Kootenay seem to draw a few hundred more fans or so that other games, I doubt that they will sell out with the regularity that the Americans games do. People just won't see Kootenay on the schedule and think of the big rivalry like they did with the Americans, at least not right away. Also, I am not opposed to putting the Chiefs in a "west division" I really like the idea. I'm just saying it will be tough for the next couple of years because Kootenay and Kelowna don't look like they are going anywhere, Kamloops is usually better than they are this year, and Prince George can throw a pretty good team together too. Although this move probably won't hurt Spokane in the long run, it could have a negative effect the first two or three years.