[an error occurred while processing this directive]
Local Sports
Archives
| Arts & Entertainment
| Audio/Video
| Business
| Classifieds
| Columns
| Food
| Forums
| Health & Fitness
| News
| Obits
| Opinions
| People
| Politics
| Science/Technology
| Search
| Sports
| Subscribe
| Travel
| Weather
Wednesday, February 28, 2001
WPHL may merge with CHL
Proposed league includes San Antonio
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times
The Western Professional Hockey League will explore the possibility of merging with the Central Hockey League to form a new league that would begin play as early as next season, officials said Tuesday.
Steve Cherwonak, director of communications for the WPHL, said the 13-team WPHL has "agreed to agree" to look at a merger with the CHL, a 12-team league that includes a franchise in San Antonio.
The new league would begin play in October 2001, officials said.
If the merger is completed, it could place the Corpus Christi IceRays into a revamped hockey division that could include San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth, as well as future WPHL expansion franchises in Laredo and the Rio Grande Valley.
"I think it will strengthen both leagues, and make San Antonio a natural rivalry with Corpus Christi," Cherwonak said. "With more teams involved, the scheduling process will be a lot easier, especially when there are more numbers to play with."
The CHL has other franchises in Memphis, Columbus, Indianapolis, Fayetteville, Huntsville, Macon, Oklahoma City, Topeka and Wichita.
Schedules, number of franchises, free-agent drafts and management issues all would need to be ironed out before the merger is completed, Cherwonak said.
"There's a lot of positives involved," he said. "But we have to make it happen from a structural standpoint. We're both going to put our best foot forward to making it happen."
Cherwonak said he doubted the new league would sustain all 25 existing franchises.
Already this year, the WPHL closed down teams in Tuscon and Belton, while the CHL also has severed ties with two teams, the Border City Bandits and the Topeka ScareCrows.
Both the IceRays and the San Antonio Iguanas are among the healthier teams in their respective leagues.
San Antonio is 32-17 and in second place in the Western Division of the CHL. The Iguanas also are fifth in the league in attendance, averaging 4,327 fans a game.
The IceRays are 33-23 and in fourth place in the Eastern Division of the WPHL, and are sixth in the league in attendance, drawing 3,569 fans a game to Memorial Coliseum.
"There's a huge list of things that are positive, but you're not necessarily going to see a 23-team league in October," he said.
"It's not necessarily needed, but I think it's beneficial," he said. "We've had our difficulties and they have too. I think you will see some casualties. From an operational standpoint, it's better than losing teams midseason."
Staff writer Javier Becerra can be reached at 886-3734 or by e-mail at becerraj@caller.com. Sports Editor Richard Tijerina contributed to this report. He can be reached at 886-3745 or by e-mail at tijerinar@caller.com
| Talk
about this story | Next Story | Home
|
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
© 2001,
a Scripps Howard newspaper. All rights reserved.
|
 |
 |
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
