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Tuesday, Jan. 12, 1999
Ticket holders could lose out
By JAVIER BECERRA
Staff Writer

   More than one million pounds of dirt and manure will signal the end of the Corpus Christi IceRays' home-ice advantage should they continue through the final two rounds of the 1999 Western Professional Hockey League playoffs - and it's causing a major stink among the hockey team's fan base.
   The Memorial Coliseum is booked from April 9 through May 2 to accommodate the city's 61st annual Buccaneer Days festivities, which would force the IceRays to play any playoff home games during that time on the road.
   The Buc Days Rodeo is scheduled for April 14-19 in the Coliseum. Rodeo chairman Fred Dotts said trucks will begin hauling in the dirt to be spread on the arena floor Friday, April 9 - the deadline to remove the building's ice rink.
   Should the IceRays advance to the semifinal or championship round, it could mean lengthy road trips for both the team and fans.
   "There's going to be a whole lot of disappointed people," season-ticket holder Ian Webber said. "Where will they go? The fans want hockey, but traveling to Abilene, Fort Worth and Waco is a real expense. And if you're a hockey fan, you're going to want to be there.
   "Maybe (IceRays' officials) just didn't anticipate such a successful inaugural season, but that's the most exciting hockey there is - playoff hockey. For it not to be happening here, the fans are losing out on some of the best hockey around."
   Season-ticket holder Cory Goller said he heard in October that scheduling conflicts with the Coliseum could cause problems in planning the team's third- and fourth-round playoff series.
   "I kind of heard something very early (about the problem), but it hasn't come up since then," Goller said. "They said if things went pretty far in April, there could be a problem. Then we'd be stuck.
   "It would be devastating and upsetting," Goller said (if the conflict) "wasn't looked at early on." IceRays' officials have known since June 16, 1997, that the ice would have to be removed from the arena floor by April 9.
   "It's not right to the fans that have really supported the team," Goller said. "I don't even want to think about what's going to happen, but I know there will probably be a lot of disappointed people.
   With the regular season concluding March 21, the WPHL's best-of-3, first-round of the postseason could begin as early as March 23.
   The IceRays, who own a 20-14-5 record and are expected to be one of 12 teams to make the postseason, would receive a first-round bye if they finish as Central Division champions, and could begin a best-of-5, second-round series as early as March 27.
   In the event of a prolonged playoff run, the IceRays would be forced to find an alternate venue.
   Goller said if the IceRays were to use Freeman Coliseum, home of the Central Hockey League's San Antonio Iguanas, as a substitute home or neutral game site, the proximity would allow more fans the opportunity to attend.
   "It would certainly be better than playing all the games in Abilene, Fort Worth or New Mexico," he said. "That's not a viable solution for all the people who have paid good money and supported the team for the last six months."
   Still, Goller would rather cheer from his seat in the Igloo.
   "I hope something can be worked out," Goller said. "As a season-ticket holder, I'd be pretty disappointed after waiting all year for the season to get down to the end and not be able to watch them at home during the playoffs."
   Staff writer Javier Becerra can be reached at 886-3734 or by e-mail at becerraj@scripps.com

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