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Hockey in Cleveland continues to
struggle
Reasons are numerous and
complex
2/7/05 - by Craig Haueter
As
the Barons head into the last week of play before the AHL All Star break, I
felt it time to share my thoughts on the season to date and the state of
professional hockey in Cleveland. The Barons are 51 games into the current
season and have this to show for it: steady rumors about the team relocating to
places like Quad Cities and Tulsa, a spot in last place in the North Division
(13 points out of playoff contention) and an average attendance of 4,163 per
date which ranks 22nd in the AHL. As I stare at these facts this morning, I
feel my frustration level begin to rise as it often has recently.
My
excitement over the Barons coming to town in the summer of 2001 seems a
lifetime ago. The lone playoff appearance by the Barons last spring seems to
have been just a dream. There are some great hockey fans in Northeast Ohio,
believe me. I drive 50 minutes one way to watch hockey in Cleveland. As a
season ticket holder since the day the Barons arrived, I have been treated very
well by the organization and have witnessed the San Jose front office reaching
out to build a relationship with Cleveland. The problem as I see it quite
frankly is that there is not enough of us and there are large hurdles that make
the odds of AHL survival in Cleveland difficult at best. Please allow me to lay
out some of them.
#1 – Cleveland is the home of the Cleveland
Indians, Cleveland Cavaliers and Cleveland Browns. Can you imagine the
difficult task the Barons have landing media attention and advertising support
with those major league teams in front of them.
#2 – The fact that
Cleveland reportedly falls in the top five nationally in amateur hockey
participation might actually hurt the cause for professional hockey. As a
parent of children active in sports, I can attest to the fact that it is often
hard to fit Barons games into an already busy social schedule with the kids. It
is also hard for local hockey fans to relate to an NHL team that plays
primarily in the Pacific time zone. As hard as the Sharks organization tries,
it has to be logistically challenging to lend support to an AHL affiliation so
far away.
#3 – Cleveland historically is a front-runner type of
sports town. With maybe the exception of the Browns, Cleveland fans will
usually only come out to support a winner. The Barons performance on the ice
the last 3 ½ seasons has not helped anything in this area. Frankly, the
team was lousy during years 1 and 2. Last year, the Barons made it out of the
Q-round but lost to Hamilton. This season thus far, the Barons are 21-25-1-4 in
a tough North Division loaded with NHL lockout-related talent. Goals have been
hard to come by and the energy level by the team has been inconsistent.
#4 – The Barons play second fiddle as a tenant at
Gund Arena. The Cavaliers of the NBA are obviously the primary tenant and get
first dibs on home dates. This historically has limited the Barons access to
weekend games at home. In addition, the Barons do not reap the parking and
concession revenues that other AHL teams do. The recent sale of the Cavaliers
and Gund Arena to Dan Gilbert has this area of concern quite up in the air. The
Barons lease with Gund Arena expires after next season.
#5 – There
seems to be an underlying continuing backlash to prior hockey experiences in
Cleveland. The current regime seems to bear the brunt of the negativity from
before and gets compared to the things that were done before and are not being
done now. Almost from the beginning of the arrival of the current Barons, the
question has been whispered, “when is the team leaving town?”
Thanks for letting me vent. The windfall that should have come the Barons way
with the NHL lockout has seemingly passed us by. The diehards in Cleveland
continue to lend our support and hope for the best. I will forever be a Sharks
and Barons fan! Unless the deck of cards we have been dealt gets reshuffled or
they uncover more of us, we will more than likely be the last ones out when
they shut off the lights-again.
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