Macon might lose Whoopee January 20, 2002

By Rob Mueller
Augusta Staff Writer

It appears the Macon Whoopee's first season in the East Coast Hockey League also will be their last.

According to several ECHL sources, Macon owners are set to pull the plug on the franchise at the end of the season as a result of poor attendance and a lack of corporate sponsorship.

The Whoopee left the Central Hockey League to join the ECHL this season, entering into an agreement to lease the former Tallahassee Tiger Sharks and relocate the franchise to Macon.

But sources indicate that the Macon Sports Group, led by majority partner Brother Stewart, plans to exercise its option to return the franchise to the Elmore-Tuttle Sports Group at season's end.

It remains unclear whether Macon will try to return to the Central League or pull the plug on hockey altogether.

Macon general manager Lee Higgins declined to address the franchise's long-term future.

"I really don't want to comment on that," said Higgins, who took over as GM after team president Keith Burdette left for a job with the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes in October. "I'm just going to leave it right there. We're not going to deal in any speculation, because there's a lot of rumors going around."

The lease agreement is for one year, with the Macon Sports Group holding an option to purchase the franchise outright from Elmore-Tuttle at the end of the term.

"Yes, there is a time frame on our lease, and it's at our owners' discretion to fit in that time frame," Higgins said. "There's no rush, and (Stewart is) weighing all his options. I talked to one of the owners last night, and everything is AOK."

The state of the Whoopee and other struggling franchises will be one of the topics on the agenda at this week's Board of Governors meeting at the ECHL All-Star Game in Trenton, N.J.

Despite fielding a competitive team under coach and former NHL player Gord Dineen, Macon was 27th in the 29-team ECHL in attendance through Friday's games, averaging 2,522 fans a game.

The Whoopee entered Saturday's game at home against Columbia with a 21-16-7 record, four points behind Greenville for first in the ultra-competitive Southeast Division.

"As far as our attendance, it's down a little bit from recent years, but it is picking up," Higgins said. "We've never been a strong October-December team attendance-wise. It picks up each year in January, February and March."

League sources also indicate the Mobile Mysticks will not be back in 2002-03. The Mysticks appeared to be done after last season when the team did not reach its goal to sell 1,500 season tickets for 2001-02, but owners decided to stick it out for one more season.

Mysticks owners might ask the league for permission to suspend operations for one year in an attempt to regroup for the 2003-04 season. However, sources say the franchise will be sold and relocated to another city.

Representatives from prospective groups looking to relocate existing teams or acquire an expansion franchise will be on hand at the league meetings this week.

Among the new markets being discussed are Gwinnett County, Ga.; Bloomington, Ill.; Myrtle Beach, S.C.; Massillon, Ohio; Kansas City, Mo.; and Orlando, Fla.

Reports out of Little Rock, Ark., indicate the Arkansas RiverBlades could relocate to Orlando next season. There also has been talk that Pee Dee Pride owners are exploring a move to Myrtle Beach, contingent upon the completion of a multi-purpose arena.

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