Chicago Hounds 2009.Possible breaking news

[gradavee]

I was bored And did a google seach On the chicago Hounds.
Chicago Hounds web site last I checked in June Still said as of today the Hounds have Ceased operations.
Today there was a new logo and a huge caption saying Coming Spring of 2009...Man I hope this is true!!!

[arlingtonway]

I'm not a big fan of the logo change but I think their return is good for the IHL

[mfosterftw]

Here's the whois on the website... the last part is the most valuable:

Registrant:
JOHN TUSCHER
6690 South Rte 53
Woodridge, Illinois 60517
United States

Registered through: GoDaddy.com, Inc. (http://www.godaddy.com)
Domain Name: CHICAGOHOUNDS.COM
Created on: 14-Feb-06
Expires on: 14-Feb-09
Last Updated on: 05-Dec-08

Administrative Contact:
TUSCHER, JOHN jtuscher@aol.com
6690 South Rte 53
Woodridge, Illinois 60517
United States
3125906552 Fax --

Technical Contact:
TUSCHER, JOHN jtuscher@aol.com
6690 South Rte 53
Woodridge, Illinois 60517
United States
3125906552 Fax --

Domain servers in listed order:
ADMIN.ADVANCEDARENAS.COM
NS2.ADVANCEDARENAS.COM

[hockey]

So Marc, your inside info beat my googling. heh. I still have no idea who own the Steel. At least with the economy how it is I no longer have to read city council meeting minutes to find these juicy bits. Seems like building development outside of Tucson and Evansville is dead.

I'm going Chicago Steel out, Chicago Hounds in at the Edge Ice Arena.



ADMIN.ADVANCEDARENAS.COM
NS2.ADVANCEDARENAS.COM

[VDOJAQ]

Be very careful assuming what league this is taking place in.

[hockey]

Be very careful assuming what league this is taking place in.

Feel free to share your "guesses".

[WarriorsFan]

The AAHA seems like it's the only other league with a similar footprint...and it already has the Chi-town Shooters (although I doubt that's a disqualification). Perhaps the CHL?

[gradavee]

My call to the IHL Commish remains unreturned.

[VDOJAQ]

Feel free to share your "guesses".

I don't share anything anymore because I am the one who gets called a$$hole.

[VDOJAQ]

The AAHA seems like it's the only other league with a similar footprint...and it already has the Chi-town Shooters (although I doubt that's a disqualification). Perhaps the CHL?

AAHA is a sinking ship, Battle Creek is being funded and the Fraser team has gone belly up , only to be rescued by another idiot willing to dump stupid money in a team playing at that hole they call a home rink. THe players all revolted 7 days ago because they were not getting paid.

Evansville is the only franchise that will sustain "minor" financial losses this season.

Wath for Evansville to pop up in "another" league in 2-3 years, ie CHL , ECHL.

[VDOJAQ]

So Marc, your inside info beat my googling. heh. I still have no idea who own the Steel. At least with the economy how it is I no longer have to read city council meeting minutes to find these juicy bits. Seems like building development outside of Tucson and Evansville is dead.

I'm going Chicago Steel out, Chicago Hounds in at the Edge Ice Arena.

If you are going that route , it would be Blackhawks and Steel out. It has been good info for sometime that the HAwks were moving their practice headquarters/ice up a little bit more North after this season.

Secondly, the "large arena" at the Edge would have to be upgraded to AA hockey standards for the spectators.

Not saying this isnt going to happen, just thoughts on what has to happen for it all to take place.

[OldDetFan]

The Edge seems too small for The IHL. With a different owner my bet is the team enters The AAHA. Costs are less in that league and the barn is the size that fits the league.

[WarriorsFan]

AAHA is a sinking ship, Battle Creek is being funded and the Fraser team has gone belly up , only to be rescued by another idiot willing to dump stupid money in a team playing at that hole they call a home rink. THe players all revolted 7 days ago because they were not getting paid.

Evansville is the only franchise that will sustain "minor" financial losses this season.

Wath for Evansville to pop up in "another" league in 2-3 years, ie CHL , ECHL.

Evansville needs a new arena. I don't think Roberts' actual floor is big enough (for indoor football, it was the smallest out of every league). I thought I saw something about a new arena being built, but the capacity of the arena is paramount.

At Swonder, the Icemen are essentially stuck in the AAHA. And even though the AAHA isn't doing too great, and if the Hounds do end up back and at the Edge ice arena, they would seem to be stuck there as well. Or perhaps the MWHL is still going to make a go of it?

[VDOJAQ]

Some updates that I came up with over the weekend.

* The Hounds will be an active franchise for the 09-10 season
* The Hounds are presently an inactive IHL franchise in good standing.
* They will be part of a AA minor pro league, not the AAHA, SPHL, EPHL, MWHL, or any other "A" or lower league.
* They will NOT be playing at the Edge. The Edge is owned by the city of Bensenville, not Advanced Arenas. The Blackhawks are moving out of the Edge at the end of this season. The city of Bensenville wants to close the ice plants and turn the Edge into an indoor soccer facility to cater to the large immediate Hispanic community.
* It was rumored 2-3 years ago that Advanced Arenas were going to reopen the Polar Dome under thier management. The Polar Dome is a dead option for all parties concerned.
* I am convinced that they will return to the Sears Centre as they only have 2 anchor tentants that only require 21 dates. They cannot keep the lights on with that little action.

This is purely my own speculation, but I believe that the IHL has pressured Chicago to either become active or surrender the franchise before the 09-10 season.

I also believe that a major restructuring at the AA level will be coming this off season.

[VDOJAQ]

Correct, Advanced Arenas doesn't own the Edge. The city owns the edge but Advanced Arenas does not own any arenas. Advanced Arenas is management company. They manage rinks and Advanced Arenas manages the rink. A lot of city/town/village/private company/etc look for a management company.

Where did you hear the city wants to close the rink? Any links? They have already booked ice for 2010, I know this to be a fact.


Advanced does not manage the Edge in Bensenville as far as I know, but I could be wrong on that.

Yes, there is ice booked for the 09-10 season, nothing beyond until the City of Bensenville resolves the budget issues.

[IncaCHIEFS]

I also believe that a major restructuring at the AA level will be coming this off season.

This is one true statement. I think all the AA leagues are going to see the need for restructuring to help the weaker teams and help with travel costs etc. I could see 3-4 leagues based on geography.
Some of the stronger teams might move up to the AHL and weaker AHL teams drop to AA.
It will be an interesting off season.

[mfosterftw]

This is one true statement. I think all the AA leagues are going to see the need for restructuring to help the weaker teams and help with travel costs etc. I could see 3-4 leagues based on geography.

Didn't someone come up with that idea about a decade ago?

[Section206]

Evansville needs a new arena. I don't think Roberts' actual floor is big enough (for indoor football, it was the smallest out of every league). I thought I saw something about a new arena being built, but the capacity of the arena is paramount.

At Swonder, the Icemen are essentially stuck in the AAHA. And even though the AAHA isn't doing too great, and if the Hounds do end up back and at the Edge ice arena, they would seem to be stuck there as well. Or perhaps the MWHL is still going to make a go of it?


The new proposed arena for Evansville will have a capacity of 10,500 for hockey. The city looked at eight different areas downtown or near downtown during the feasibility study.

I will look up the link and post it when I find it again.

[Section206]

I could not find the link for the original article (which was rather long winded) so here is another link below:

The original article stated 10,500 for hockey....this article states 10,375, which is still a nice sized arena. :smile:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evansville_Events_Center

[VDOJAQ]

Just an update to the situation for the Hounds. The Sears Centre has declined Craig's needs and shut the door.

The Santas Village property has new for sale signs and new brokers, dead as well.

This is a permanent RIP for this franchise.

[gradavee]

The web site stating coming spring 2009 is now gone.
What a shame.:mad:
Thanks for the update VDO

[Quacky]

Thanks for the updates, guys. It's indeed a shame that the franchise is dead. Craig was a caring owner who tried his darnedest....

[Lucher]

Tough news for the IHL.

[Goalie Mom]

Bummer! I was hoping that they would be able to come back this year. It would have given me a better excuse to go to Spud's for more weekends.