Toledo Storm!

[Vladiator 116]

I'm hoping that hockey can stay in Toledo, but the odds are not good (at least for a few years if the Storm folds) . Some of us from the Toledo area might recall, the Griffs were to be relocated to a new arena that was to be built in the Crossroads development in the Perrysburg/Rossford area. As I recall good old Carty (the mayor then and unfortunately now) made some big opposition to it because it could have taken fan aways from the Storm. Carty went so far as to ask everyone to boycott Little Caesars (good move when the franchises are locally owned). I''m still surprised that RW organization kept their ECHL affiliate in Toledo after what Carty pulled.

I'm still hoping that a deal can be done to bring the Griffs to Toledo with a new arena, but that will obviously not happen until Carty is out of the picture

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

I'm hoping that hockey can stay in Toledo, but the odds are not good (at least for a few years if the Storm folds) . Some of us from the Toledo area might recall, the Griffs were to be relocated to a new arena that was to be built in the Crossroads development in the Perrysburg/Rossford area. As I recall good old Carty (the mayor then and unfortunately now) made some big opposition to it because it could have taken fan aways from the Storm. Carty went so far as to ask everyone to boycott Little Caesars (good move when the franchises are locally owned). I''m still surprised that RW organization kept their ECHL affiliate in Toledo after what Carty pulled.

I'm still hoping that a deal can be done to bring the Griffs to Toledo with a new arena, but that will obviously not happen until Carty is out of the picture

Well Adirondarck Red Wings were supposed to move there....but Rossford sucks. So does Charles Woodson.

[Bender 0]

Even though there really isn't a bad view anywhere in the rink, TSA is a nasty place no doubt about it. AFAIK, that remark about the zamboni is true - and that just serves to further illustrate the fact that the riverdome has outlived it's usefullness.

While I'm thinking about it, and in my experience, the cost of attending a Storm game is roughly 5 times less expensive than going to the Joe for a Wings game (figure about $100 per person total for a night at the Joe compared to $20 in Toledo). Especially when you consider that the few times that I have been able to round up enough tickets for everybody (at face value anyway) to go to Detroit we end up in the top of the upper bowl and spend half the game in some line or another. Not to take anything away from the experience, but for my money I would rather have a minor league team to go and see in a new local facility and just buy the center ice package for NHL games. I wouldn't mind paying a little more for tickets to see the Storm if it meant that we get the new building. Hell, I might even buy season tickets.

[NAVYWING 2]

BRING BACK THE GOALDIGGERS!!!! Edited March 27, 2007 by NAVYWING

[Zion 93]

Chris McSorley and the Goaldiggers.

My dad told me that one time he bit off part of a guy's nose in a fight. I never could tell if he was kidding or not.

[NAVYWING 2]

I went to a Goaldiggers vs. Indianapolis Checkers match in 77, and there were 12 fights in that game. They had to stop play for 20 minutes to clean blood off the ice. It was insane.

[Bender 0]

It was only a matter of time before somebody brought up the Goaldiggers. Come to think of it, that's really where my interest in hockey began. After they folded, I practically forgot about hockey during the interim until the Storm started to play, which renewed my fascination with the game and I have been getting more & more into it ever since.

I can remember pucks literally slamming into empty seats next to me at their games when I was like 5 years old. That was practically a near death experience - I can still recall that moment with clarity.

Another time, I saw a player get cross-checked into the end boards and knocked hard to the ice - which was fine - until one of the 'diggers failed to stop in time and ended up (unintentionally) cutting into the guy's face with his skate. They took him off on a stretcher and it took several minutes to clean all the blood of the ice. Needless to say, that left quite an impression...

[poxer 0]

I used to go to a lot of games at The Sports Arena when my kids were little.Now that they are bigger and they want to go,I don't get there very much.It's not really a nice place to take the kids.That sucks,because it's pretty affordable to go there.We had a lot of good times there during their championship years in the early 90's.The last game I went to though,there was a guy crapping in the sink in the men's bathroom.That's pretty damn nasty.Too nasty for me.I think it's probably too nasty for a lot of people.It is just a very outdated building.I think they have one of the first Zamboni's ever made.The sound system sucks.The seating sucks.The parking sucks,I had to park on the boat launch ramp at the marina behind the arena once.It would suck if the team had to fold,but they need a new building to get fans to show up.

I used to play hockey there when I was younger and looking at it from being on the ice, it is not so bad but the facility is horrible! Whenever I go, I don't go to the bathroom there! The Zamboni is probably one of the best things about that place because they haven't gotten a new one. I love to watch that thing clean up the ice.

Go Storm Go! Definitely need a new arena...Sports Arena has been up since WWII....hope the Mud Hens buyout goes quickly so hockey doesnt disappear in Toledo.

The Mud Hens buyout is already a done deal, now the Storm is meeting with the league April 3 to talk about their future. The Toledo Blade is calling it the 'Beginning of the End'.

[Bender 0]

The Mud Hens buyout is already a done deal, now the Storm is meeting with the league April 3 to talk about their future. The Toledo Blade is calling it the 'Beginning of the End'.

Confirmed? Last I heard, it was still up in the air....

[Icer 0]

So if the Storm fold, who is going to be the Red Wings new minor league affiliate?

[poxer 0]

Confirmed? Last I heard, it was still up in the air....

It is pretty much a done deal. Like the only thing could happen is if like the Mud Hen's owners died or something. There is like a .0000001% chance of it no happening.

So if the Storm fold, who is going to be the Red Wings new minor league affiliate?

I don't know who the Wings would use as their affiliate. I just know that they aren't going to put a AA Hockey Team into the new arena.

[jpfalcon09 0]

Owner Tom Gladieux is going to ask for a one year suspension of operations from the ECHL this week and it will be voted on next week by the board of the ECHL. My guess is that they'll okay it as long as the Mud Hens go through with the purchase and assumingly try to get the team back on the ice for the 08-09 season.

[TK19 0]

Here is an article from the toledoblade.com doesnt sound too good for the Storm, Storm GM Pat Pyluipuik doesnt sound too pleased.

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...RTS10/703220419

Storm owner Tim Gladieux said he has been "in very serious discussions" with Mud Hens officials over the last several weeks. He said nothing official has been signed, but that he expects something to get done in the next two to four weeks.

"There is nothing definitive, signed in writing. But it is a lot closer," Gladieux said. "We just need a few more weeks."

"I had been told that the Sports Arena would not be torn down until the new one is built," Soskin said. "But things can change when you're talking about a billion dollar project. We'll know more in a few weeks."

"I've been told that they don't want anything to do with the history of hockey in Toledo. They want to go in a different direction," Pylypuik said. "I don't think the Hens want the Storm to play anymore in Toledo. I want nothing to do with them."

Pylypuik said Soskin was getting short-changed in the deal.

"He founded it and rescued it," Pylypuik said. "He was the only person that took a chance for hockey in Toledo."

But Soskin said he was offered no guarantees when he came back as the team's president in 2005.

"No one made me any promises," he said.

[Bender 0]

That last quote is what worries me - when it comes right down to the political BS surrounding the people involved with the situation, I fear that Toledo may lose pro hockey (again) for an indefintie amount of time. Bastards.

[poxer 0]

The GM, Assistant GM and a few others aren't even going into work lately because they just stopped caring. What do you think is going to happen?

[Wings_Toledo 233]

In Cincinnati we had the Cyclones for quite a few years and then attendance dropped and the team elected to sit out for a few seasons. Now they're back and affiliated with Montreal. So, I guess what I'm trying to say is that even if the Storm fold, there's a chance they could return a few years down the road.

[TK19 0]

That last quote is what worries me - when it comes right down to the political BS surrounding the people involved with the situation, I fear that Toledo may lose pro hockey (again) for an indefintie amount of time. Bastards.

I agree that last quote scares me. I dont understand why the Hens would want the Storm out of Toledo. Even with the Storm in Toledo, the Hens are STILL Toledo. I mean if you ask a person not from around here what Toledo is best known for usually its Jamie Farr, Katie Holmes and the Mud Hens(not in any order). So i dont see/get why the Hens would want the Storm gone.

Besides it makes NO sense whatsoever to get rid of hockey if they really are building this new arena. Whats the point in building it if they are just gonna try and get rid of the team for good.

[TK19 0]

A new article from today in the Toledo blade.

Sounds a bit more promising that some form of minor league hockey will be played in Toledo next season...

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/a...80418/-1/SPORTS

The commissioner of the ECHL said yesterday that the league wants to keep a pro franchise in Toledo despite a request from the Storm to suspend operations.

Brian McKenna said his league faces a major decision when it considers the team's request to voluntarily suspend operations at a meeting next Wednesday. The Storm's owner, Tim Gladieux,

submitted the proposal in February.

"Our goal as a league would be to have a team in Toledo for many years to come," McKenna said.

Gladieux said last week that he is close to selling the team to the Mud Hens baseball organization. He said he expects an announcement in the next two to four weeks.

Pat Pylypuik, the Storm's current general manager, said he has a group of investors, including 10 locals, who are putting together a deal to bring a new hockey team to the area. Pylypuik said the team would play in the Sports Arena until it is torn down.

The group also would build a new 3,500-seat facility estimated to cost $5 million for the team to play in after the Sports Arena is razed, according to Pylypuik. He said the group is looking at a few locations, but that it would not be built in Lucas County.

"I guarantee you there will be hockey here next season," Pylypuik said. "Mayor Finkbeiner has assured us that the Sports Arena will be available."

Pylypuik said his new franchise could play in the United Hockey League or be a junior league team.

"It would be an option for hockey fans," he said. "They can either sit in a 100 million dollar Taj Mahal and watch the dessert cart go by or they can come watch hockey."

[poxer 0]

Yes, but the new arena will hold an AHL team. There is no way they will put ECHL in there.

[TK19 0]

Yes, but the new arena will hold an AHL team. There is no way they will put ECHL in there.

The article states that if the Mud Hens purchased the team theyd make sure it stayed in the ECHL, because basically they realize an AHL team here might be outta of our market. So to speak i guess.

[poxer 0]

That could be the case but then the Storm won't be in the new arena. It will be in the one that was stated in you're post.

I still think that the Storm, in general are going to go elsewhere because their attendance is not as great as it used to and the scheduling for the games is just ridiculous. They had a a game down in Dayton at night then had to be bused back to Toledo for a game the next morning at 10:30 AM. They lost 5-1.

[TK19 0]

That could be the case but then the Storm won't be in the new arena. It will be in the one that was stated in you're post.

I still think that the Storm, in general are going to go elsewhere because their attendance is not as great as it used to and the scheduling for the games is just ridiculous. They had a a game down in Dayton at night then had to be bused back to Toledo for a game the next morning at 10:30 AM. They lost 5-1.

Yeah its some promotional thing they do, for the school kids. it doesn work as well as it does for the Hens. The Hens have 2 games a season that start at like 1030am, and so do the Storm. Which is nice, but like you said its dumb to have a game the day before especially if its a road game. And they should maybe have it on a Friday morning where more people could possibly get off work to actually go to the games.

[Hockeytown Red Wings 245]

Yeah its some promotional thing they do, for the school kids. it doesn work as well as it does for the Hens. The Hens have 2 games a season that start at like 1030am, and so do the Storm. Which is nice, but like you said its dumb to have a game the day before especially if its a road game. And they should maybe have it on a Friday morning where more people could possibly get off work to actually go to the games.

School kids shouldnt be allowed in the Sports Arena....Storm fans can be pretty dirty. I brought my mom once for a playoff game against Reading...she's a cool lady because she doesnt mind but it was still uncomfortable. Met Rob Hisey's mom that day too(he scored that one crazy goal in the AHL All-Star game a few years back).

EDIT: I'm fine with the crowd, but I was just wondering if they brought kids in for free or what.

Edited March 29, 2007 by Hockeytown Red Wings

[poxer 0]

It is not just for school kids, its for 3rd shifters too. When they get off work, they can go catch a Storm game. It's a bad promotion, the last time they did it, the time I just talked about, only a thousand people showed up.

[TK19 0]

School kids shouldnt be allowed in the Sports Arena....Storm fans can be pretty dirty. I brought my mom once for a playoff game against Reading...she's a cool lady because she doesnt mind but it was still uncomfortable. Met Rob Hisey's mom that day too(he scored that one crazy goal in the AHL All-Star game a few years back).

EDIT: I'm fine with the crowd, but I was just wondering if they brought kids in for free or what.

Yeah it doesnt really work all that well. Im not sure if they make the kids pay or what, i bet they just give them a huge discount on tickets. but if only a handful of people are showing up its pointless to have it anyways. and i know the fans are pretty nasty there, so its probably why they do it at 1030am.