WHL Grants Exspansion

[Tinner]

WHL Grants Expansion Franchise to Edmonton
Created: Mar 16, 2006
CALGARY, AB – Ron Robison, Commissioner of the Western Hockey League, announced today that the WHL Board of Governors approved the granting of an expansion franchise, on a conditional basis, to the City of Edmonton commencing with the 2007-08 season.

The WHL expansion franchise in Edmonton will be owned by the Edmonton Investors Group, current owners of the Edmonton Oilers.

In awarding the expansion franchise, the WHL will require the Edmonton Investors Group to meet a series of conditions in order to obtain final approval.

The new expansion franchise in Edmonton will increase the WHL to a total of 22 member Clubs throughout Western Canada and the Pacific Northwest of the United States.

The Edmonton franchise will join the Central Division of the WHL’s Eastern Conference.

The Chilliwack Bruins who were previously granted an expansion franchise as the WHL’s 21st Club will begin play in 2006-07.


WHL Annouces Re-Alignment

The WHL also announced today the new WHL Conference and Division Alignment for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

Beginning in the 2006-07 WHL season, the Kootenay Ice will return to the WHL Central Division, while the Swift Current Broncos move back to the WHL East Division. The expansion Chilliwack Bruins will commence play next season in the WHL B.C. Division. As a result, the 2006-07 alignment will feature 10 Clubs in the Western Conference and 11 Clubs in the Eastern Conference.

With the addition of the Edmonton expansion franchise in 2007-08, the WHL Eastern Conference increases to 12 Clubs while the WHL Western Conference remains with 10 Clubs.


WHL Approves Sale of Portland

The WHL Board of Governors also approved the sale of the Portland Winter Hawks franchise to a group of investors consisting of Jim Goldsmith of New York (Managing Partner), John Bryant of Dallas and Jack Donovan of Tuscon.

Jack Donovan will be relocating to Portland to manage the franchise on behalf of the new ownership group.

The new ownership group also announced that current General Manager Ken Hodge will continue to serve as the Portland Winter Hawks General Manager.

The Portland franchise is an original member of the WHL. The franchise, originally the Edmonton Oil Kings, relocated to Portland following the conclusion of the 1975-76 season. The 2005-06 WHL season marked the 30th season the WHL Club has operated in Portland, Oregon.

[Triton]

WHL Annouces Re-Alignment

The WHL also announced today the new WHL Conference and Division Alignment for the 2006-07 and 2007-08 seasons.

Beginning in the 2006-07 WHL season, the Kootenay Ice will return to the WHL Central Division, while the Swift Current Broncos move back to the WHL East Division. The expansion Chilliwack Bruins will commence play next season in the WHL B.C. Division. As a result, the 2006-07 alignment will feature 10 Clubs in the Western Conference and 11 Clubs in the Eastern Conference.

With the addition of the Edmonton expansion franchise in 2007-08, the WHL Eastern Conference increases to 12 Clubs while the WHL Western Conference remains with 10 Clubs.
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How will that work with 6 teams in the East and central for the playoffs?Also what about the unbalance of the conferences..12 for the East and 10 for the West??

More teams is just wrong.The NHL is regretting expansion.Now Robison is going all ape with Expansion teams.Talent pool in the league is sure going to be watered down.Plus I'm not a fan of 2 expansion drafts back to back.

[Triton]

What next,Brandon to the OHL?

[Beaner]

No surprises, except them moving Kootenay to the Eastern Conference.

Going to make for an interesting situation where 4 teams in the East miss the playoffs, compared to only 2 in the West.

I thought with Edmonton getting another team, they would have kept Kootenay in BC, moved Swift to the East and put Edmonton in the Central.

Oh well, I guess that sets the stage for even more expansion in the west. How long till Victoria and/or Nanaimo gets another team?

[Tinner]

you have to remember 1 thing................money talks.


And your little joke about Brn going to the OHL. Of course it will never happen, but i believe there are teams in the WHL that wish they did! Like any team west of the manitoba border (maybe even west of Brn)....lol

[RunTheGoalie]

Just about the worst kept secret, eh?

I dont think the WHL wanted to expand, but the Tri-Cities/Chilliwack mess forced the league's hand, and now that they were at 21, why not go to 22 and get a market they desperately wanted?

I don't like the alignment though. I'd prefer 11 per conference (sorry Kootenay) with a crossover for the last playoff spot if necessary.

I'm betting Red Deer and Calgary especially are loving this announcement.

The Oilers were absolutely drooling over the 320,000 extra fans the Flames put into their arena with the Hitmen. Very smart investment for a small market NHL team with not many revenue streams available.

[RunTheGoalie]

Oh well, I guess that sets the stage for even more expansion in the west. How long till Victoria and/or Nanaimo gets another team?

Robison has mentioned Winnipeg as a desirable location before. Think they might go with Winnipeg and Victoria, then shift the Ice back to the West?

[Chipper]

Of course everyone already knew that this was a formality. I personaly am glad that the Ice will be back into the Central div as they have had better rivalries there. We have always played more in the Central or even the U.S. div(Spokane) than we do anyone in the west. The Ice fans really have suffered as far as a good rival since the cange to the west, every team will tell you their best rival but the Ice because of the allignment have really not had one. The fans only remember the great games and rivals with the Hitmen and the Rebels. Who will be next in line for a franchise now? Victoria and a new team in the U.S. I think the league will look to even up all the divisions now over the next 5 or 6 years. Anyone know how much the Oilers had to pay for the franchise?

[The_Vulk]

Robison has mentioned Winnipeg as a desirable location before. Think they might go with Winnipeg and Victoria, then shift the Ice back to the West?
Did not the Winnipeg: AHL Manitoba Moose state that they can't afford having a WHL and AHL team together?

Ticket prices and such being too close together.

As for the Ice, don't they play more games in the Central Division already than in their own? The rivalries the Ice have within the Central has not materialized to an equal level in the BC Division/Western Conference.

But for making such an uneven conferences, I'd have thought that leaving the Ice in the West, making it three teams from each conference not in the playoffs, using a divisional cross-over formula or having divisional champs seated 1-2 followed by the next six best teams in the conference.


Curious, have they stated what the 'series of conditions' are?

[RunTheGoalie]

Not sure of what the Moose charge off hand, but if they are anything close to what the Roadrunners charged in Edmonton, the prices arent that similar.

[Rooselk]

If the WHL were to expand the Western Conference it would be very easy to find a expansion city in BC. But the US division? I just don't see it. The Puget Sound region already has two teams and I doubt that Tacoma would give it another try after the failure of the Rockets. I suppose Yakima would be a nice location (especially considering it's proximity to the Tri-Cities) and it does have the Sun Dome, but I'm not sure that locale has the fan interest.

Could the Portland area support two teams? And if so, is there a facility capable of hosting a WHL team?

[bandwagonboy]

The Oilers were absolutely drooling over the 320,000 extra fans the Flames put into their arena with the Hitmen. Very smart investment for a small market NHL team with not many revenue streams available.

WHL francises have failed in the Edmonton market before. IMHO there is no guarentee that this new francise will do as well as the Hitmen have. The Hitmen have great success because they are a well marketed, well run organization that competes every year. If Edmonton thinks it will be as easy as just having the team there then they'll end up moving in a few years. There's no reason why it shouldn't succeed, but at the same time it won't be easy.

[Rebel66]

I'm really happy to see the Ice back in the Central as I really enjoy the rivalry and their fans are top class. It was never the same since they moved over to the BC division.

As for Edmonton, I'm happy with that move too. Another rival is always a good thing and it gives me the chance to go on more, relatively close, road trips!

The numbers are strange though. I thought the league wanted to do away with the mismatched conferences?

[iamcdn]

Is this franchise set to start next season?

I still would like to know what will happen with the Roadrunners, I thought they would just suspend operations for this season and continue on the next. I'm not familiar with the West, but there is no way Edmonton can support WHL, AHL and NHL.

[Triton]

Is this franchise set to start next season?

I still would like to know what will happen with the Roadrunners, I thought they would just suspend operations for this season and continue on the next. I'm not familiar with the West, but there is no way Edmonton can support WHL, AHL and NHL.

The Roadrunners are done.The new Edmonton WHL franchise will operate in the 07-08 season.

On a side note,anyone have a picture of the Tacoma Dome?Never did get to see what that looked like.

[FELIX17]

Of course everyone already knew that this was a formality. I personaly am glad that the Ice will be back into the Central div as they have had better rivalries there. We have always played more in the Central or even the U.S. div(Spokane) than we do anyone in the west. The Ice fans really have suffered as far as a good rival since the cange to the west, every team will tell you their best rival but the Ice because of the allignment have really not had one. The fans only remember the great games and rivals with the Hitmen and the Rebels. Who will be next in line for a franchise now? Victoria and a new team in the U.S. I think the league will look to even up all the divisions now over the next 5 or 6 years. Anyone know how much the Oilers had to pay for the franchise?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wingnut posted this on another thread previously.
The fee is rumored to be $4 million for Edmonton and/or anyone else ($190,476 per team). It is possible that Everett and/or Chilliwack do not get a share of the expansion monies as part of their franchise agreement. Sometimes, clauses are put into expansion franchise agreements prohibiting new teams from sharing in any future expansion fees for a certain period of time.
Kootney is better off in the central for geography and rivalry reasons, Swift should be in the east with the rest of the Saskatchewan teams. Having 12 teams in the eastern conference and 10 in the west is ridiculous. If it turns out only 2 teams miss the playoffs in the west and 4 in the east, somebody really needs to give their head a shake and maybe a kick in the a$$ is necessary as well.

[wango tango]

Kootney is better off in the central for geography and rivalry reasons, Swift should be in the east with the rest of the Saskatchewan teams. Having 12 teams in the eastern conference and 10 in the west is ridiculous. If it turns out only 2 teams miss the playoffs in the west and 4 in the east, somebody really needs to give their head a shake and maybe a kick in the a$$ is necessary as well.

if i'm doing the math right the eastern conference teams would have a one in three shot of missing the playoffs, while almost all of the western conference teams would make it. huh?

if the playoff format is going to be top eight in each conference with no east to west cross over, this is awful for a lot of reasons. almost all western teams getting in means more playoff money for them and richer teams in the west, if you don't think this will affect player recruitment take your blinders off. this is certain to alienate eastern conference fans whose team could make the playoffs if the conferences were equal. the way things look right now eastern conference teams will have greater expenses and less playoff revenue, particularily in a first round series.

makes me wonder if there is more here than meets the eye, and we'll hear more about a new playoff structure to hopefully address the conference imbalance. at least i hope so.

[Beaner]

You wont be seeing an East/West crossover playoff format because the travel would be just too demanding both Finanacially and Physically on the teams involved.

Can you really see a First round matchup of for example, Brandon vs. Portland? For round 2 Brandon vs. PG?

Next year 06/07 wont be too bad, East will have 1 extra team, and I expect at some point during next year yet another expansion team will be being announced for the western conference to balance out the conferences a bit.

I do fully agree with previous posters, this conference set-up is an unfair advantage to the Western Conference teams.

[Bran]

It really looks as though they're trying to balance things out in order to make room for future expansion in the west. In the mean time, though, it throws everything out of wack. It would make more sense to me to have 6 teams in BC and 6 in either the Central or East, which might now balance out the divisions but it would balance out the conferences. That way they could either go to a conference style playoff series or have a BC/US crossover and an East/Central crossover within the confernces.

[langdak]

The Roadrunners are done.The new Edmonton WHL franchise will operate in the 07-08 season.

On a side note,anyone have a picture of the Tacoma Dome?Never did get to see what that looked like.

www.google.ca

type in: Tacoma Dome, click on "Images"

[GF71]

No pictures, but I can tell you about it. I big cavernous dump. On a side note I saw KISS there on their reunion tour and their pyro lit the roof an fire and the show had to be stopped for 20 min. :laugh:

[Bran]

No pictures, but I can tell you about it. I big cavernous dump. On a side note I saw KISS there on their reunion tour and their pyro lit the roof an fire and the show had to be stopped for 20 min. :laugh:
Haha, but I bet you'll never forget it!

[langdak]

No pictures, but I can tell you about it. I big cavernous dump. On a side note I saw KISS there on their reunion tour and their pyro lit the roof an fire and the show had to be stopped for 20 min. :laugh:

I couldnt agree more, the 1 time i was there it was a complete dump too.

I saw indoor soccer there when i was about 10yrs old, so we are talking 16yrs ago now, i can only imagine what it is like nowadays.

[Triton]

I found a couple pictures of it for those who haven't seen it.Didn't find any pictures of a hockey game.Didn't the building have high boards?Whats the seating capacity of that Dome??

[HAF]

Here is a good one on the Tac Dome.
http://images.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/washington/tacoma_dome2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.worldstadiums.com/stadium_pictures/north_america/united_states/washington/tacoma_dome.shtml&h=205&w=300&sz=31&tbnid=nZvTcYdNMLH6FM:&tbnh=75&tbnw=111&hl=en&start=4&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dtacoma%2Bdome%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den% 26lr%3D%26sa%3DG

[langdak]

http://www.charpy.com/Photos/2000/01/000122-06.jpg

[ihlemic10]

I was there last week for the state high school Basketball tournament. The place looked and smelled like a dump. I do remember there being a ballot measure to remodel it, don't know if it passed of failed. T-Dome definetly needs some work. It looks like it has been stuck in the 80's.

[Beaner]

Commisioner was on the radio just now, and he did mention the the league is seriously looking at Victoria and or Nanaimo.

Arena mentioned was Bear Mountain Arena, in the Colwood/ Langford area, but that arena would need an upgrade, as it only seats 2300 right now.

It's currently home to the Victoria Salsa of the BCHL, but the Commisioner did mention tat they had been talking to them.

He gave me the impression that the league is definatley very interested in Victoria.

For those that don't know, Colwood is a suburb of Victoria, about a 20-25mins drive from Victoria proper.

[RunTheGoalie]

I wonder if they might be able to get into an agreement with the Salmon Kings to play in the SOF Centre?

This entire scenario represents poor timing for the WHL. Victoria wanted a WHL team, but went with the ECHL when they were told the league was happy at 20. Then the Chilliwack mess happens, forcing the league's hand, but Victoria is already committed.

I simply do not see both the ECHL and WHL coexisting long term, which means that the WHL would be going in expecting to drive the pros out

[RunTheGoalie]

As far as the conference alignment goes, the league has always been more favorable to the western half of the league. Remember the ridiculous three division format where west teams got byes, while the East had to fight it out an extra round?

[Rooselk]

Personally, I'd like to see the T-Birds get a new facility so they could get out of Key Arena - even if that new facility were to be built in Bellevue (and if Shultz gets his way with a Key Arena upgrade, let's hope that the facility is made compatable for an NHL team). I'm not dissing the T-Birds, just believe that they deserve better than Key Arena.

Hadn't considered Bellingham. Living where I do - in between Bellingham and Everett - I'd love to see an arena and a team there.