Corpus Christi Caller Times Caller.com - Aviators future may be up in the air in Abilene

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Sunday, November 21, 1999

Aviators future may be up in the air in Abilene

By Mark Button
Caller-Times

Can hockey survive in Abilene?
   Aside from controversies about chanting fans in Corpus Christi, that is the question of the moment for the Western Professional Hockey League.
   After buying the team late this summer, Aviator owners Dr. John and Glenda Slaughter have announced that they are currently entertaining offers to sell the team.
   "They have some people out there who have expressed an interest in buying the team," said Brad Treliving, director of hockey operations for the WPHL. "At this point, (the Slaughters) are reviewing those offers."
   The Slaughters acquired the Abilene franchise after its previous owners ran the team into bankruptcy.
   So, can hockey survive in Abilene?
   Treliving says yes, it can.
   He points to last season's attendance in Abilene (an average of more than 3,400) as proof.
   "It's not an issue whether hockey will be supported in Abilene," Treliving said. "I think we proved last year that it very much can be."
   Slaughter, a respected optometrist, apparently indicated to the league that owning the hockey team was more than he bargained for when he bought it.
   "It's taking a great deal of time away from Dr. Slaughter's business," Treliving said. "I don't think he envisioned, when he got in, spending as much time away from his profession as he has."
   After the bankruptcy and slow sale of the team to the Slaughters last summer - it took more than three months - the fans have not come running back.
   The Aviators currently have the worst attendance in the league, attracting an average of 2,036 per game. The team on the ice has not fared much better: It lost the first five games of the season and Abilene is in the WPHL Central Division cellar with a 5-12-1 record.
   A TUCSON TO JOIN WPHL: The WPHL is giving Joe Milano another chance.
   After running up thousands of debt with the Waco franchise last year, Milano is heading up a group to bring the WPHL to Tucson, Ariz., next year.
   "Are there mistakes that Joe made? Yes," Treliving said. "We have to look at what happened in Waco. Was it a successful venture? No, but there were a lot of things outside of Joe Milano's realm of responsibility that I think impacted us in Waco."
   Treliving said the league felt that since Milano is part of group and not acting alone, it is safe to give him another chance.
   "Some things went wrong in Waco, but they were not all Joe Milano's fault," Treliving said.
   The team has signed a lease with the Tucson Convention Center and is currently in the process of naming the team and hiring staff members. Milano and his group have been interviewing prospective general managers since Nov. 13.
   A SALE NEARING FINISH: Belton businessman Bob Carlson signed an option to purchase 71 percent of the Central Texas Stampede franchise from its owners in Vancouver, British Columbia.
   This should make the players happy: they staged a walk-out during a practice early in the season in protest to the slow sale of the team.
   Carlson, the president and CEO of Carlson Printing, wanted 100 percent of the franchise, but he compromised with owners of the 29 percent, all of whom are also local.
   "Bob wants to have 100 percent local ownership," Stampede public relations director Jeff Bowerman said. "But these local owners must be willing to contribute financially."
   Bowerman said in the past, the local owners have had limited interest in becoming involved with marketing and financing the team.



Staff writer Mark Button can be reached at 886-3613 or by e-mail at buttonm@caller.co

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