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Thursday, May 31, 2001
WPHL, CHL to merge
IceRays’ Hall says plans are far from final
By Javier Becerra
Caller-Times
After four months of negotiations, the Western Professional Hockey League and Central Hockey League have agreed to merge, officials announced Wednesday.
   Details involving general hockey operations will be resolved at the WPHL's league meetings June 4-6 in Arizona, and officials said they plan to have all the particulars - including salary cap issues, schedules and division alignments - finalized by June 15.
   Corpus Christi IceRays general manager Taylor Hall remains cautious as the two leagues work to complete the 10-year agreement.
   "I know what deals are like, and I'm sure there are still a ton of things that need to be worked out," Hall said. "The intent is where it needs to be, but there's still a long way to go. In the long run it's a great idea, but the people involved are under the gun to get it done. Whether this happens, teams have to get ready for next season."
   Officials directly involved with the merger are confident all unresolved issues will be decided by the June 15 deadline.
   "Today is a monumental day for both of us at the WPHL and CHL," said former WPHL president Rick Kozuback, now president of the WPHL parent company which oversaw merger negotiations.
   "This is the culmination of four months of work," he said. "We believe we put together what we think was the best scenario for Double-A hockey. There's still a lot of work ahead of us."
   Owners from both the 13-team WPHL and 10-team CHL have been invited to attend next week's league meetings in Scottsdale, Ariz. There it will be determined which teams will remain in the new league, which will operate as the Central Hockey League with anywhere from 18-23 teams, not including new franchises in the Rio Grande Valley and Laredo scheduled for the 2002-03 season.
   Both sides said the merger was not necessary for survival, but will reinforce a sport that has endured a tumultuous ride from an operational standpoint.
   Each league lost two franchises last season. The WPHL revoked the franchise license of its Tucson team on opening day, and then terminated its Central Texas operation midway through the season. The CHL suspended the operations of the Border City Bandits in Texarkana and Topeka (Kan.) Scarecrows in February. The Scarecrows, who will join the United States Hockey League this fall, finished the season after filing an injunction to allow the team to continue playing.
   Despite last season's closings, WPHL president Brad Treliving said the consolidation further strengthens the existing product.
   "The last 24 months, we have all been at a bit of a crossroads," Treliving said. "The industry has seen a tremendous amount of growth, and also fragmentation. I'm a believer that consolidation at our level is needed. There's been so much fragmentation, the two leagues should be commended for taking a leadership role. This is about how we can better our business and put ourselves in elite status."
   Individual franchises were not involved during the negotiations, but will have a greater participation at the league meetings, CHL commissioner N. Thomas Berry said.
   "They had little input other than acknowledgement that the discussion was happening," Berry said. "They will all be coming to the meetings in order to find out what requirements are (for inclusion in the league)."
   Until team participation is finalized, the merger brings together 23 teams.
   The 5-year-old WPHL holds eight franchises in Texas, three in Louisiana and one each in New Mexico and Mississippi. The CHL completed its ninth season and has franchises in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Indiana, Alabama, North Carolina, Georgia and Tennessee.
   Berry said there has also been some interest from several teams wanting to depart the International Hockey League. Until the league relinquishes the rights to those teams, they will not be included in the merger.
   "At the moment there are cities presently under contract to other cities in other leagues that have expressed interest in joining," Berry said. "We are not in contact with them, but we are standing by and ready to move in case there are some changes."
   With the addition of the CHL's San Antonio Iguanas, the merger would create a natural division with Corpus Christi and existing WPHL teams in Austin, Fort Worth and San Angelo.
   Treliving said the new league's all-star game will remain in Corpus Christi, and that only the format will have to be decided. Last season's WPHL all-star game featured an East vs. West format, while the CHL combined its all-star game with the West Coast Hockey League.
   "We have an agreement in place, and we don't see anything stopping that," Treliving said. "The format will be something we have to look at as soon as division alignment and schedule needs are addressed."
   Though league makeup and division alignments have yet to be determined, travel costs are likely to be a main part of next week's discussions. A road game between Corpus Christi and the Indianapolis (Ind.) Ice would cover more than 1,300 miles.
   Treliving said creating the divisions based on geography could actually decrease travel costs and eliminate the need for air travel.
   "From a geographical standpoint, there are a number of things that fit into the picture," Treliving said. "This is not meant to be a burden. This league will rely solely on bus travel. There has been some air travel, but this is to be a bus league. Ground transportation is the mode of transportation."

   Western Professional Hockey League Timeline

October, 1994 - Rick Kozuback begins looking into the possibility of starting a professional hockey league in the southwestern United States.

Feb. 8, 1995 - Western Professional Hockey League, Inc. is formed in Scottsdale, Ariz.

March 15, 1995 - Initial planning begins, including general league configuration and marketing study to determine team locations.

Jan. 18, 1996 - Officials announce the WPHL will begin play in October with six teams in Amarillo, Austin, Central Texas, El Paso, Albuquerque, N.M., and Waco.

Oct. 16, 1996 - First WPHL game is played at Bell County Expo Center in Belton between the Waco Wizards and Central Texas Stampede. Troy Frederick scores the league's first goal 22 seconds into the game to lead Central Texas to a 5-4 shootout win.

April 15, 1997 - El Paso defeats Central Texas, 5-2, in Game 5 to capture inaugural WPHL championship.

October, 1997 - WPHL begins second season with six new teams in Fort Worth, Odessa, San Angelo, Lake Charles, Monroe, La., and Shreveport, La., creating two divisions and expanding the season from 64 to 69 games.

April 22, 1998 - El Paso sweeps Central Texas in four games to win its second WPHL title.

October, 1998 - WPHL begins third season with five new teams in Abilene, Alexandria, La., Little Rock, Ark., Corpus Christi and Tupelo, Miss., creating three divisions.

March, 1999 - League announces the addition of Tucson as its newest franchise to begin play in 2000.

May 1, 1999 - Shreveport wins WPHL championship, sweeping San Angelo in four games.

October, 1999 - WPHL begins fourth season with only one new team in Lubbock, creating three six-team divisions.

Nov. 3, 1999 - WPHL announces Laredo, the league's 20th team, will begin play as early as 2001.

Dec. 15, 1999 - WPHL suspends the operations of Waco and Abilene due to unresolved ownership situations.

March 1, 2000 - WPHL announces the addition of a new franchise in the Rio Grande Valley.

May, 2000 - Arkansas and Alexandria cease operations after regular season.

May 12, 2000 - Shreveport wins second straight WPHL championship in six games over New Mexico.

Aug. 20, 2000 - Laredo voters approve sales tax increase to help fund construction of new arena.

Oct. 12, 2000 - WPHL revokes Tucson's franchise license on opening night.

Jan. 7, 2001 - WPHL terminates Central Texas franchise.

Feb. 7, 2001 - Corpus Christi named host of WPHL all-star game.

Feb. 28, 2001 - WPHL announces it has "agreed to agree" to look at a merger with the Central Hockey League.

May 5, 2001 - Bossier-Shreveport wins third consecutive WPHL title, defeating Lubbock in five games.

May 29, 2001 - WPHL and CHL call joint news conference to make announcement concerning the future of both leagues.

May 30, 2001 - WPHL and CHL officials announce the two leagues will merge for the 2001-02 season.


Contact Javier Becerra at 886-3734 or becerraj@caller.com

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