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Tuesday, Mar 19, 2024
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Puck Stops Here: San Diego Gets Hockey Team

Hockey is coming back to San Diego this fall, and it can’t be too soon, judging from the response the team’s owners received since the deal was announced.

“We weren’t actively marketing the team yet, but we’ve heard from a lot of people in this community,” said Ari Segal, the president of business operations of the Anaheim Ducks. “Their passion for hockey and the response we’ve got from this market has been overwhelming and inspiring.”

The Ducks of the National Hockey League acquired the Norfolk (Va.) Admirals of the American Hockey League last month, and will relocate the team to San Diego, which has supported hockey teams going back to the 1940s.

While some minor league sports teams have had a sketchy history here, notably basketball, hockey has generally done well, with the most recent tenant at the Valley View Casino Center, the Gulls, consistently drawing about 5,000 fans per game, up until the last few years when attendance dropped off.

Hockey teams have played in San Diego starting in 1944. Among the most famous players to skate here, Willie O’Ree, was the first black player in the NHL, for the Boston Bruins; he was a Gulls forward from 1967-’73.

For a majority of the sport’s history here, the Gulls were the name for the local franchise. The earliest franchise was the Skyhawks, and other teams were called the Mariners and Hawks. The team competed in five minor leagues, yet none approached the level found in the AHL, said several Ducks executives.

“This is considered the second-best level of hockey in the world,” said Bob Ferguson, general manager for the Ducks’ affiliate franchise that will begin its 2015 season at the Valley View center starting in October.

“We have some players who have a lot of National Hockey League experience, and who played maybe 400-500 games in the NHL, and some who are waiting to play their first game,” Ferguson said. The players’ ages span from the 20s to mid-30s, he said.

“This will be a huge step up in quality (of players)…huge,” said Bob Murray, the Ducks’ general manager.

Pacific Division

The Ducks, along with four other NHL teams, formed a Pacific division for the AHL last month after years of trying to bring their affiliate teams closer to their homes.

“It took forever,” said Murray, who said relocating the franchise was a key goal ever since he arrived in 2005.

About a year and half ago, the general managers from the Ducks, the Los Angeles Kings, San Jose Sharks, Calgary Flames and Edmonton Oilers all hammered out an agreement to set up a Pacific division that will benefit each of them, he said.

Ernie Hahn, the general manager for the Valley View arena, said although the Gulls had a successful franchise both on the ice and attendance, the club’s popularity waned in the latter years.

The main reason was the team joining the East Coast Hockey League, Hahn said. Not only was the level of competition a big step down from the West Coast Hockey League, opposing teams hailed from far distances and didn’t play here often enough to generate the kind of rivalries that generate continued fan interest, he said.

“I’d say the peak for the Gulls was about 1998 to 2001, when we were averaging about 7,000 per game. By the last season, it was down to about 4,500 per game, and we were losing money,” Hahn said.

Making a Name for Themselves

While Ducks’ officials wouldn’t reveal what the new name for the San Diego franchise is yet, many fans are expecting a rebirth of the Gulls. The official announcement will be made at a HockeyFest event to promote the team on Feb.22 at the Valley View center.

The decidedly higher quality of play evident in the AHL, which supplies the NHL with nearly 90 percent of its players, should help rekindle the fervor of longtime puck fans, while attracting a sizable group who are unfamiliar with the sport, says Murray.

“I think people are going to like the product that we’ll be putting on the ice,” he said. “But they also like ticket prices we’ll have. You’ll be able to take your family to a game.”

Segal said the lowest priced tickets will be $10 for students and active military. Premium seats in the first row against the boards are almost 50 percent sold out, at $65 per game. The seats, called the Ring of Honor, include parking, and a jersey. As of last week, Segal said the team has received deposits on season tickets from about 1,000 fans.

Murray wasn’t certain what the budget for the local franchise will be, but noted the Admirals were spending about $5 million annually for players’ salaries and travel. Free agent players earn a minimum of $42,000 but that can escalate fairly rapidly if they can secure a contract from an NHL parent club. One veteran now playing for the Kings’ affiliate team in Manchester, N.H., makes more than $5 million annually, Ferguson said.

Facility Upgrades

Before the first puck is dropped in October, the Ducks will be investing ‘significant capital’ into upgrades to the players’ areas, including lockers and weight-rooms, Segal said.

Since 2010, when the Hahns negotiated a sale of the majority of their master leasehold at Valley View to the Anschutz Entertainment Group, the latter invested about $6.5 million into the arena, which opened in 1966 and was built for $6.4 million.

The upgrades to the arena, which holds 13,000 for hockey, included improved lower level seating, rest rooms, flat screen televisions, a lounge, and bigger marquee signage. The land the center occupies is owned by the city of San Diego and leased to AEG and the Hahns through 2020.

Hahn has heard scuttlebutt about a possible deal for a new football stadium for the Chargers involving the city land his center occupies as well as Qualcomm Stadium, another city property, but said nobody has approached him on the topic.

At the moment, he’s focused on the upcoming season, and how he can help pave the way to the sport’s return to the city. “We have a hockey team today, and that’s exciting for San Diego, and they’ll be here for a long time,” Hahn said.

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