OKLAHOMA CITY — Blazers Ice Center recently lost its namesake tenant, but the arena and the OU hockey club that plays and practices there have no plans of disappearing.
Blazers Ice Center is not owned by Express Sports, the company which owned the Blazers. Instead, the Blazers gave their name to the arena as part of a marketing and promotional effort, according to Larry Donovan, general manager of both Blazers Ice Center and the OU hockey club.
“It was kind of a mutual thing,” Donovan said. “They needed the exposure, we needed the exposure, so it was a good working relationship.”
The Blazers suspended operations July 1, citing the current economic downturn as the reason in a statement that appears on their Web site. The team practiced at Blazers Ice Center, renting ice time and storage space from the arena.
“We’re just going to have to find something else to fill the void,” Donovan said. “We’re going to have to get creative marketing.”
The professional hockey void in Oklahoma City might be short-lived. The Oklahoma City Council approved a tentative lease with AHL Hockey Club, LLC., which is a preliminary step towards bringing an American Hockey League franchise to Oklahoma City. The deal would allow an AHL team to play at the Cox Convention Center in 2010. It might also provide the arena with a new anchor tenant.
“We’re a pretty good practice facility for any team, NHL all the way down,” Donovan said. “We have the accommodations.”
Until and unless that happens, however, the OU hockey club, along with a club at the University of Central Oklahoma, will be the highest-level of hockey in the Oklahoma City metro area this season.
“People know we were here, and they either went to a Blazers game, or they came here,” Donovan said. “Now we’ll have, obviously, more people coming to an OU hockey game. That’s a good plus for us. It will be an exciting atmosphere here at the games, because there will be more people watching.”
Blazers fans are purchasing and asking about season tickets to OU hockey games, Donovan said. Season tickets are $126, with OU students receiving free admission.
The OU club team, which participates in the American Collegiate Hockey Association, will begin its seventh season Sept. 25 by hosting defending ACHA champion Lindenwood (Mo.) University.
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dargus 2 years, 10 months ago
It would be nice to get an AHL team in OKC. The Blazers going under could be a blessing in disguise.