selkie 10 Report post Posted June 2, 2009 I would hate to see Wings Stadium go. Playing there my whole life and all. I'd imagine a downtown arena would only have one rink, and the three rinks at Wings is huge for high school, travel, and house leagues. It just seems like it makes sense to rennovate the old stadium, given the location advantages and number of ice sheets it has. Yeah, some city planning types might be hoping for a new barn downtown to anchor redevelopment like Van Andel did in GR, but right off I-94 is so nice if you're coming in from Benton Harbor, Battle Creek, or points east of there. I think the 'Coast is less picky about stadiums than they were during the boom years, and Wings Stadium has such nice sight lines for hockey. And I kind of dig that old arena smell of too much old cigarettes and spilled beer with a hint of pot. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Hiei 192 Report post Posted June 3, 2009 well, Since Denny Voss and Calgary f***ed up AHL hockey in Quad Cities, they might come into the E or A. Can't see them going back to the I. Ice surface was replaced in 2006 to a 197x85 (AHL Approved it) ice surface. iWireless Center (formerly the Mark of the Quad Cities) is a rocking place for Hockey. The Mallards won the Colonial Cup in 97 and 98 (thinking of another team that won a Cup in 97 and 98...) The Mark was literally bouncing up and down. Goal Horn and crowd at max power makes a mad hockey area. Sadly, they tapered off when the team tapered off, and then the team never advertised like they did once. With the right ownership group, Quad City could become a great hockey area again. Keep in mind though that after 98 there were a number of closings. Maytag, Carhartt, Caterpillar, Farmall, CaseIH, Consolidated Freightways, among other major operations in the area. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Chelichic 12 Report post Posted June 3, 2009 Reportedly Dayton will have an IHL team coming on-line next season. If so, they'd hold at six team... assuming Flint or Port Huron don't implode in the off-season. Last time i heard Port Huron will no longer have a team. My dad is the president of the boosters club of the Icehawks and is totally pissed that the city wont let the IceHawks run the ice rink (originally they wanted to buy the rink from the city-or whom ever owns it), so the team said they are leaving PH. Granted I have not talked to my dad in 2 weeks... so this is the latest news I have. Sucks. I liked going to Flags, Beacons, and IceHawks games. Went to one K-Wings game against the Flint Generals, loads of fun. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Gizmo 21 Report post Posted June 3, 2009 Last time i heard Port Huron will no longer have a team. My dad is the president of the boosters club of the Icehawks and is totally pissed that the city wont let the IceHawks run the ice rink (originally they wanted to buy the rink from the city-or whom ever owns it), so the team said they are leaving PH. Granted I have not talked to my dad in 2 weeks... so this is the latest news I have. Sucks. I liked going to Flags, Beacons, and IceHawks games. Went to one K-Wings game against the Flint Generals, loads of fun. Port Huron announced in mid-May that they'd signed a new lease with the city and would be back for 2009-10... so far so good. However, IIRC their average game attendance last year was something like 1,500 people. You can't keep an IHL team afloat with those kind of numbers unless you're also doing something like selling contraband out of the back of the arena! One possible twist to watch is that reportedly the league by-laws have a 3 year "no compete" clause when a team departs. However, it isn't clear if the IHL would fight their departure or if some creative lawyering and legal form filing could make them a "different" team on paper. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
