UHL hockey coming to Kemper

WoodDraw · Post by **WoodDraw** » Sat May 22, 2004 2:09 am

http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascit ... 728526.htm

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 3:38 pm

I don't know why the news is breaking bigger now, but it seems it's 100% official that UHL will in KC next season. This is seen as a definite first step in bringing NHL back to KC. The new owner was interviewed on 61Sports and he talked about how it's important for KC to develop more hockey fans in order for NHL to come back. He also expressed interest in sharing ownership of the new NHL franchise.

http://www.theuhl.com/cgi-bin/news_arti ... oHomeFlg=Y

KCN · Post by **KCN** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 4:49 pm

whoopdeedoo.

We're in a league with franchises in St. Charles, Davenport, Richmond and Fort Wayne. And those are the big cities.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 7:13 pm

KCNorthlander wrote:whoopdeedoo.

We're in a league with franchises in St. Charles, Davenport, Richmond and Fort Wayne. And those are the big cities.

Uhhh no kidding. This is MAJOR story they are hyping on sports radio!!??? They are saying that UHL could move to the Sprint Center if NHL doesn't come. They could move the UHL to El Torreon. I've never even heard of most of the cities in the UHL.

Post by **dangerboy** » Thu Jul 08, 2004 8:44 pm

One step at a time guys. If this thing does well that would help our case for an NHL team. Then when NHL comes to the Sprint Center this team could move to whatever suburban mini-arena gets built.

phxcat · Post by **phxcat** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:51 am

I read about this in the paper today and had the same reaction- now if the team were to play in DeSoto, we may have something! This is a definite step down from the IHL days and I just don;t see how this could be a step toward NHL.

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 1:06 pm

Iâ€™m actually embarrassed once again in this city. UHL??? At Kemper??? That is a big deal??? If anything, this might only hurt our chances of getting an NHL or even an AHL team. They wonâ€™t draw well at Kemper. The suburbanites wonâ€™t bring the family down there to see a game except maybe on Sat nights and real hockey fans (like myself) will ignore the team.

Geeze, they play in a league where one of the biggest cities is a suburb of St Loius.

Kansas City, act your size for once.

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 2:06 pm

They're getting an awfully late start in terms of cranking up the marketing machine, selling sponsorships (or whatever they're called), etc. If they're smart, they'll grab a few ideas or even people from the T-Bones, which seem to be doing a pretty good job of building a fan base.

KCPowercat · Post by **KCPowercat** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 2:20 pm

minor league hockey is minor league hockey....the letters they use is no real difference to me.

Keep the UHL and bring in the NBA to the Center and we'll all have a merry christmas

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 2:46 pm

I see the jokes now from our StL friends: â€œyour hockey team plays St.Charles?!â€

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 3:05 pm

GRID wrote:They wonâ€™t draw well at Kemper. The suburbanites wonâ€™t bring the family down there to see a game except maybe on Sat nights.

Probably true, unless it's marketed unbelievably well, which seems impossible, given that they have a three-month window to start building a buzz.

GRID wrote:Real hockey fans (like myself) will ignore the team.

I'll go. Unless it sucks really, really bad, I'll take what I can get at this point. I won't buy season tix, though.

supastudio · Post by **supastudio** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 10:36 pm

I saw on the news that they will be letting the public pick a name for the UHL team...

QueSi2Opie · Post by **QueSi2Opie** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:06 pm

KCPowercat wrote:minor league hockey is minor league hockey....the letters they use is no real difference to me.

Keep the UHL and bring in the NBA to the Center and we'll all have a merry christmas

I agree! At least maybe JOCO will no longer pursue an arena if KCMO already has a minor league hockey team. Maybe they'll go after the Wizards (doubtful)?

GRID · Post by **GRID** » Fri Jul 09, 2004 11:18 pm

I just hope we do fill the place for a couple of years so we can get a real team into the Sprint Center and this is not a great level of hockey for a major league city.

KC does not follow minor league sports well and the lower the league, the more of a chance it has of failing.

I know many NHL fans and I know they won't be going unless they have kids and might make it to a sat night game just to get out and see some hockey with the family.

But I do agree, TAKE THAT OLATHE!.

trailerkid · Post by **trailerkid** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 12:00 am

This won't stop Olathe or OP. I'm sure they will dig out some other poor haggard league to fill their useless tin shed of an arena. Besides, minor league stuff flys in OP or Olathe more than KC because people there appreciate hearing their suburban name (Olathe 151sters, Overland Park Prairiebuilders or whatever) and want to represent it by going. People who identify as Kansas Citians are not going to go to a game and see us play Great Bend because in our other sports we play other real cities. Much of the mentality in areas like Olathe, Lee's Summit, OP, etc. is no different that what you find in actual small cities like Rochester, MN; Sioux Falls, SD; Dubuque, IA. Hell, those KC suburbs are just as big as or bigger than the other cities they play against.

phxcat · Post by **phxcat** » Sat Jul 10, 2004 11:30 am

Actually, I wouldn;t be surprised if the team were to jump to OP or Olathe when they got the chance- why would they want to play in a dump like Kemper that is way too big for them when a brand new, and much smaller, arena were available? I would hope that Sprint Center will not be an option for them!

Gorlock · Post by **Gorlock** » Thu Jul 15, 2004 4:15 pm

KC's hockey team names ex-NHL player as head coach

Rob Roberts
Staff Writer

The credentials of a new head coach introduced Thursday suggest that a new Kansas City minor-league hockey venture means business.

The first head coach of the yet-to-be-named United Hockey League team is former National Hockey League player Darryl Williams. He comes to the double-A Kansas City team after two years as an assistant coach with the Cincinnati Mighty Ducks in the triple-A American Hockey League, minor-league hockey's highest division.

During the two seasons before that, he coached the Long Beach Ice Dogs in the West Coast Hockey League to a 63-34-12 record.

Williams was introduced at a news conference at Kemper Arena, where the team is scheduled to play its first-ever game Oct. 15.

Also introduced was Joseph Bucchino, the team's new assistant general manager and director of player personnel. He and Richard Adler, team president and general manager, have been part of the same management team since 1993, previously working with International Hockey League and East Coast Hockey League teams.

Adler declined to disclose Williams' salary.

During their IHL championship season in 1994, Bucchino said he and Adler, then with the Atlanta Knights, tried to trade three players to the Detroit Vipers for Williams.

Williams, who became familiar with Kansas City while playing against the Blades in the now-defunct IHL, exhibited the qualities as a player that the new Kansas City team wanted in its coach, Bucchino said.

"He crashed the nets and was an anchor in the locker room," he said. "He was always his team's MVP."

During his 18 years as a professional player and coach, Williams also earned a reputation for community involvement, which will be a hallmark of the Kansas City team, Bucchino said.

Williams, who played with the NHL's Los Angeles Kings in 1993 and retired as a player in 1999, said he was excited about working with a successful management team that is expected to be a conduit to the NHL's return to Kansas City.

Chillicothe resident Stephen Franke, who leads the new UHL team's ownership group, Kansas City Professional Hockey LLC, hopes to buy an interest in a new NHL team that would play at the proposed $250 million Sprint Center.

"We're going to be the ones who bring the following (for professional hockey in Kansas City)," Williams said. "If an NHL team comes, it comes from us."

Adler said that if and when an NHL franchise is attracted, the new UHL team would be moved to another city.

In the meantime, Adler said he expects to continue his record of success as president of the minor-league team.

As president of the Houston Aeros Hockey Club form 1997-2001, Adler's marketing programs helped set IHL gate-revenue records, he said.

From 1992-1996, as co-owner and president of the IHL's Atlanta franchise, his teams had the highest ticket revenue, $4 million, and highest cash sponsorship revenue, $3 million, of any minor-league hockey team.

REACH ROB ROBERTS at 816-421-5900 or rroberts@bizjournals.com.

KC0KEK · Post by **KC0KEK** » Fri Jul 16, 2004 3:11 pm

Adler said that if and when an NHL franchise is attracted, the new UHL team would be moved to another city.

That's pretty common. For example, when the Nordiques moved to Denver, the IHL Grizzlies moved to Salt Lake City. But Adler's comment is still interesting because it rules moving to a suburban arena -- unless "city" can mean Olathe or OP just as much as, say, Fargo or Terra Haute.