Gila Monsters' loss could be Icecats gain

An agreement earlier this year between the Gila Monsters and the City of Tucson had cut four games from the University of Arizona Icecats' schedule at the Tucson Convention Center, which the two teams shared. The pact had left the Icecats with only eight home weekends for the 1998-99 season - two short of the 10 weekends needed for the club to financially break even.

"Certainly, they've impacted us only in the context of dates we've had for years and years," Icecats head coach Leo Golembiewski said. "We're looking forward to getting 10 good hockey weekends next year."

The Gila Monsters franchise, which has struggled with low attendance and financial problems, was unable to renegotiate a lease with the city for use of the TCC, apparently sparking the sudden closure.

"It took us by surprise," TCC public information officer Vikki Joesting said. "We thought they (Gila Monsters) would at least go to the mayor and (Tucson City) Council again."

"We thought there were more things to talk about," Joesting added.

The Icecats-Gila Monsters problems began after the city signed a lease in 1996 with the West Coast Hockey League, in which the Gila Monsters played. The agreement stated the semi-pro team would have first choice of available weekend dates at the TCC. This, coupled with the TCC's previous commitments to events like the Gem and Mineral Show, left the Icecats with only eight possible weekends between October 1998 and February 1999 to use for scheduling games.

Officials have yet to talk about the Icecats' future schedules, due to the current "chaotic" situation, Joesting said.

The timing - not the move itself - caught TCC officials off guard, she said.

"It's been obvious to everyone they've been having problems, having declared bankruptcy last year," Joesting said. "They've had poor attendance - it hasn't been as much as they'd hoped this year."

Last year's attendance figures indicate the Gila Monsters drew an average of 1,136 fans per game, while the Icecats attracted 2,325 from sales at the ticket window alone - excluding the season ticket holders.

"Our attendance has been gigantically more than the experiment was," Golembiewski said. "We're very proud this is an Icecat town."

A Gila Monsters official, who declined to be identified, said the final straw came when the team tried to change its lease with the city.

"We've been trying to get the lease re-worked with the city. It didn't happen, so we decided to fold," he said. "Obviously the (low) attendance hurt us, among other things."

The Gila Monsters were 7-11-3 this year following last night's 3-1 loss to the Anchorage Aces at the TCC.

The West Coast Hockey League has not announced what will happen to the Gila Monster players or to the league schedule.

As for the Icecats, they are the only unbeaten team in the American Collegiate Hockey Association at 9-0-1 going into this weekend's games against arch-rival Arizona State.

"You've got an Icecat team that's undefeated this year in spite of the problems with weekends and practice times," Golembiewski said. "The Icecats are still thriving in their 20th year."

Golembiewski said the team's main problem was dealing with the TCC during the Gila Monsters' brief existence.

"It's been two and half years of hell dealing with the TCC management staff," he said. "There's a whole bunch of things that changed as a result of this experiment, the most important were the lack of weekend dates. Being a collegiate team that's played 18 of its first 20 years at the convention center and needing weekend dates because we're a collegiate team, it's hurt us in a lot of ways."

The Gila Monsters' folding has Golembiewski feeling positive about the Icecats' future.

"This should open a way for the city to re-open its arms again to Tucson's hockey team," Golembiewski said.

Chris Jackson can be reached via e-mail at Chris.Jackson@wildcat.arizona.edu.