It wasn’t widely covered this week, but the merger between the CHL and the IHL to effectively create a joint program and a de-facto North American “AA” level of hockey was a very smart move and could be a very financially viable one for the minor league clubs at that level in the sport. In reality baseball is the only sport that has figured out a business model that makes business sense for a viable minor league system. The NBA has made strides with the D-League but it is nowehre near successful from a financial standpoint yet. The NFL attempts have been less than fruitful (thank you college football) and the overtures the UFL have made now appear dead. Hockey doe. OK in some markets in fits and spurts, but it is not the social sport for the casual fan that minor league baseball is, and the higher overhead combined with limited interest has slowed growth. There is also the alphabet soup of leagies and affiliations with no real centralized plan. Last week's announcement, to help in effect create one combined strong minor super league…connected but limited in travel costs…may help to finally right the system for hockey, and in many ways help to alleviate costs from the top of the NHL on down.
If this merged league works, there could be shared costs and revenue for a coast to coast league, with teams gaining experience and best practices from around North America, as opposed to operating in a silo. That helps create unity and a free flow of ideas as well as a national footprint for minor league hockey. Eliminating much of the alphabet soup and giving clarity not just to casual fans but even to die-hard fans who don’t understand the meaning or overall affiliation will also help the sport. Is it a cure-all for minor league hocke. No. Is it a step in the right direction, and a destination for second tier hockey and for development on the professional sid. Yes. Using economies of scale on the business side is more important in trouble times than in boom years, and bringing hockey on the minor league level into alignment is a great step for the overall branding of the sport.
This is great news! I’m a huge fan of minor pro hockey and especially the CHL. This is exciting news for all fans.
Well said Joe. Your post has a hopeful ring to it and I, too, hope that you’re correct in that it raises the bar and financial stability so the sport can be seen coast to coast in local communities. The proof will be in the pudding, so we’ll have to wait and see.