Greenville Grrrowl suspend operations...

[Brian in Boston]

Team management of the ECHL's Greenville Grrrowl have announced that the franchise is suspending operations.

Team President Ed Rubinstein said, "We have exhausted every opportunity (to find new bank financing) and unfortunately, we're going to have to turn our membership back in to the league. I don't know exactly when that will happen or exactly how that happens, but we're going to do it."

The Grrrowl lost $1 million over the course of the 2005-2006 ECHL season. The team had recently failed to meet its last payroll of the year.

[Gary]

I smell the SPHL coming in and taking over

[BJ Sands]

Couldn't the Blackhawks bail them out?

(The Grrrowl are their affiliate.)

[OMMF]

Couldn't the Blackhawks bail them out?

(The Grrrowl are their affiliate.)

I'm sure the Chicago owner would be more than willing to do that for Greenville. You should convince him to spend some money on the Hawks first.

[Fred T. Jane]

Welcome to the club Greenville!

*holds up his Louisiana IceGators 10th Anniversary T-Shirt*

[TNT44]

Well, I'm an Inferno fan and I am getting tired of the SC teams folding. It was Pee Dee last year and now it's the Grrrowl. Now there are just two teams in the Great Palmetto State in the ECHL.

[HedleyLamarr]

Well, I'm an Inferno fan and I am getting tired of the SC teams folding. It was Pee Dee last year and now it's the Grrrowl. Now there are just two teams in the Great Palmetto State in the ECHL.

Does/Can South Carolina support four minor league hockey teams, really?

[fiasco!]

I smell the SPHL coming in and taking over

unfortunately, this will be the end on minor league hockey in Greenville. as a town, i do believe we can support it, but the fact is that both ownership groups since i've been down here have done very little to nothing to market the team to southerners that would be new to hockey. northern transplants, such as myself, already know the game and seek it out. they really missed the boat on this one, and for me it's a sad day.

i took my 3 year old to plenty of games, and he loves to wear his Grrrowl shirt and play with his Grrrowl hockey stick. i'll feel bad next time he wants to go to a hockey game and i have to tell him that he can't, there is no professional hockey in greenville anymore.

[Gary]

I smell the SPHL coming in and taking over

unfortunately, this will be the end on minor league hockey in Greenville. as a town, i do believe we can support it, but the fact is that both ownership groups since i've been down here have done very little to nothing to market the team to southerners that would be new to hockey. northern transplants, such as myself, already know the game and seek it out. they really missed the boat on this one, and for me it's a sad day.

i took my 3 year old to plenty of games, and he loves to wear his Grrrowl shirt and play with his Grrrowl hockey stick. i'll feel bad next time he wants to go to a hockey game and i have to tell him that he can't, there is no professional hockey in greenville anymore.

Joel I am sorry for your loss, hopefully there will be a team back in Greenville so you can take your boy to a game.

[Ez Street]

I smell the SPHL coming in and taking over

unfortunately, this will be the end on minor league hockey in Greenville. as a town, i do believe we can support it, but the fact is that both ownership groups since i've been down here have done very little to nothing to market the team to southerners that would be new to hockey. northern transplants, such as myself, already know the game and seek it out. they really missed the boat on this one, and for me it's a sad day.

i took my 3 year old to plenty of games, and he loves to wear his Grrrowl shirt and play with his Grrrowl hockey stick. i'll feel bad next time he wants to go to a hockey game and i have to tell him that he can't, there is no professional hockey in greenville anymore.

I think the future in markets such as Greenville and dare i say....Topeka, is Junior "A" league teams. Much like the NAHL or the USHL which is Tier 1. The USHL has a hefty franchise cost. But the NAHL costs about $125,000 to start a team. You don't pay the players, so you can make more profit if you have enough fans.

I think that COULD be the future of some markets now that the Minor League Hockey bubble is bursting.

[Dilbert]

The only problem with jr hockey would be all the teams are in the north and no where near Greenville. Greenvilles best bet would be the SPHL.

[fiasco!]

like i said, there will be no more minor hockey in Greenville. the market just will not support it. the owners of the bi-lo center have already stated that they have no interest in bringing hockey back. we've had 3 minor sports franchises go belly up that have played at the bi-lo center: the greenville grrrowl (echl), the carolina rhinos (af2), and the greenville groove (nbdl).

this town just doesn't support it's minor league teams, i guess there's too much of the clemson/usc rivalry in the collective mind here to leave any room for other teams. i just hope the greenville drive doesn't suffer the same fate.

[fiasco!]

here i am to correct myself, there is gonna be minor hockey in Greenville after all.....the Grrrowl (for at least one more season).

i'm :censored:ing pumped...they hired the best ad agency in town to do their marketing and it looks like there's going to be a concerted effort to keep this team alive. yay!

http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/...S0602/606230315

[Dilbert]

Great news for Greenville, I think San Diego is in trouble now though.

[Korkie]

I used to live in Greenville too and what Joel says is correct. People are so engulfed by Clemson vs. South Carolina stuff that nothing else matters. i am not surprised at all by this. Greenville is an awesome town, but I think the laid back attitude many have there lead to an apathy with their sports.

[rvrdgsfn]

Well, I'm an Inferno fan and I am getting tired of the SC teams folding. It was Pee Dee last year and now it's the Grrrowl. Now there are just two teams in the Great Palmetto State in the ECHL.

Pee Dee moved to Conway/Myrtle Beach SC but they are waiting for their arena to be built. I miss ECHL hockey. Still, losing Greenville is the biggest shock I've seen.

[RyanB06]

I used to live in Greenville too and what Joel says is correct. People are so engulfed by Clemson vs. South Carolina stuff that nothing else matters. i am not surprised at all by this. Greenville is an awesome town, but I think the laid back attitude many have there lead to an apathy with their sports.

I dunno, the Drive seem to draw decently (at least from the one game I saw over the past weekend). And they just opened a new ballpark there, so I don't see them going away anytime soon.

[fiasco!]

for those that didn't click the link in my last post, hockey IS BACK for at least one more season.

Grrrowl deal closes in on goal

Bi-Lo Center owners back plan to keep team alive

Published: Friday, June 23, 2006 - 6:00 am

By Rudolph Bell

BUSINESS WRITER

dmbell@greenvillenews.com

The Greenville Grrrowl ice hockey team cleared a key hurdle in its bid to stay in business Thursday night when the Greenville Arena District, owner of the Bi-Lo Center where the team plays, signed off on the latest plan to rescue the team.

The nine-member arena district board, with one member absent, voted unanimously to support the deferral of $180,000 in rent payments from the team and the reassignment of $170,000 in club seat and suite revenue.

Board members spent more than an hour behind closed doors before voting.

Todd Korahais, board chairman, said the financial changes, good for one year, make sense because the Bi-Lo Center will collect about $400,000 more in annual revenue if the Grrrowl continues to play in the taxpayer-funded arena.

"Even if the deal goes bad there are no negative ramifications for the taxpayers in Greenville County," Korahais said.

Greenville County Council and Greenville City Council had earlier signed off on the plan. Now investors stand ready to kick in at least $500,000 more to keep the team alive, Ed Rubinstein, Grrrowl president, said after the vote.

Rubinstein said he's already told the ECHL, the league the Grrrowl plays in, to include the team in the upcoming season schedule.

Rubinstein also said he's hired a new advertising agency, Erwin-Penland Advertising of Greenville, a new director of corporate sponsorships and will hire a new ticket sales staff to boost attendance.

The professional ice hockey team lost $1 million last year. A group of investors that bought the Grrrowl last year had tried previously to assemble a rescue plan, but it fell apart when banks refused to join.

[Korkie]

I used to live in Greenville too and what Joel says is correct. People are so engulfed by Clemson vs. South Carolina stuff that nothing else matters. i am not surprised at all by this. Greenville is an awesome town, but I think the laid back attitude many have there lead to an apathy with their sports.

I dunno, the Drive seem to draw decently (at least from the one game I saw over the past weekend). And they just opened a new ballpark there, so I don't see them going away anytime soon.

Baseball should be the one sport that takes there. Greenville is well-known as and very proud of being known as the home Shoeless Joe Jackson. There are streets, parks and museums in honor of him there.