IHL

Posted in: IHL, CHL, THE BUSINESS
Flint Generals’ future may be decided this week
By Robert Keith
Jun 9, 2010 - 2:35:52 PM

FLINT, Mich. – The future of the Flint Generals could be decided in a matter of days if a new lease is worked out with the Perani Arena, home of various incarnations of the team since the 1969.

Arena Management gave the Generals a lease proposal last Wednesday and the team submitted requested financial information on Monday. Generals owner Brandon Bordeaux has said that the lease looks good and a financial review required by the facility owner, Standard Insurance, is a preliminary step in the lease process.

Bordeaux says that he has potential investors ready to form a new ownership group for the struggling franchise, but everything hinges on securing the new lease.

Standard Insurance foreclosed on the property last December and then purchased it as the sole bidder in a sheriff's auction. They brought in Firland Management, based in Lewiston, Maine to operate the facility and oversee renovations necessary to increase the venue’s marketability for hockey use and other events. Firland currently operates five ice arenas in Michigan, New York and Maine.

In addition to the Generals, the arena typically hosts concerts, sporting events, circuses and other shows. Another hockey club, the Michigan Warriors, plans to make Perani Arena their home in the fall. The Warriors are an expansion North American Hockey League team (Tier I Junior A).  Arena manager Jim Cain reportedly told the International Hockey League in May that the Warriors’ schedule would not be a conflict for the Generals. The Warriors have yet to sign a lease.

Like many minor league hockey clubs, the Generals have suffered greatly due to the downturn in the U.S. economy, which has hit the state of Michigan particularly hard. Of the three Michigan teams competing in the IHL, only the Generals are expected to survive as a professional hockey team.

The Muskegon Lumberjacks opted to fold at the conclusion of the 2009-10 season. The dormant Rochester Mustangs franchise of the United States Hockey League (Tier I Junior A) is moving to Muskegon and will take the Lumberjacks’ name.

The future of the Port Huron Icehawks remains uncertain. Despite success on the ice, the team has failed to fill seats, averaging 1,476 sold over the past three years. The team has been fairly silent about its future since the end of the season and there’s been some speculation that team owner Larry Kinney is one of the new investors of the Flint Generals.

Attendance, or a lack thereof, has also been a continuing problem for the Generals. They averaged 1,868 tickets sold per game last season, but the actual number of fans in the building was often less than 1,000. Advertising and corporate sponsorships fell by the wayside and the team needed financial help from other IHL clubs to make it through the year.

Jake Pence (14) and Brandon Gentile (8) defend against Fort Wayne's David Hukalo (21). Photo Credit: John Rothwell

Despite their difficulties off the ice, the Generals, who spent most of the 2009-10 campaign in last place, made a great run during the last two months of play, going from last place to earning a spot in the playoffs on the final day of the regular season. Then they upset the regular-season champion Muskegon Lumberjacks after trailing their semi-final series 3-1 and earned a spot in the Turner Cup Finals, only to be defeated by the Fort Wayne Komets, four games to one.

Four other IHL teams, including the Komets, Quad City Mallards, Dayton Gems and Bloomington Prairie Thunder have committed to joining the Central Hockey League next season in a move to increase the stature and stability of the combined leagues. The Generals hope to be the fifth if the lease issue can be resolved.

If everything falls into the place and the team takes the ice in 2010-11, it’ll be interesting to see what kinds of changes a new ownership group will initiate to bring back fans, not to mention profits to the struggling franchise.

Contact the author at robert.keith@prohockeynews.com