Valley Beer Barn III

Andrew Hinkelman of the Bozeman Daily Chronicle wrote a story today as well. The Chronicle keeps their articles online for just a day, so I'm posting it below. Hinkleman gives me a cautious wink near the end, even though my original posting yesterday concerning this situation fell short of any sort of absolute declaration. I originally heard about the beer warehouse Tuesday or Wednesday, but dismissed it until it became a low roar. But then, what would the SillySeason be without a few offbeat stories? I agree with the rampant rumors though, but if the concern that this is not "a done deal" is so great, why is it expressed in the last paragraph of the article?. In his article Hinkleman also has taken the NorPac first, AWHL later path, so maybe things are snowballing in that direction. Of course, getting a straight, agenda-free answer out of anyone is nigh on impossible... Valley Ice Garden on the block Andrew Hinkelman - Chronicle Sports Writer Despite widespread rumors to the contrary, the Valley Ice Garden has not been sold - yet. However, Ice Garden owner Jason Martel did say Friday that he is in active discussions with a potential buyer. At this point the talks center around the feasibility of converting the building into a cold storage warehouse. Martel declined to name the potential buyer, saying he did not want to speak for anyone else. He did say that the would-be buyer is attending a graduation out-of-state, and no decision is imminent. "We still own it," Martel said. "We are trying to sell it, though." The Martel family has been actively trying to sell the Four Corners building for years. Several potential suitors have expressed interest in purchasing and operating the Ice Garden as it is now, but have backed out once they learned of the operating costs. "It's a money loser," said Martel of the Ice Garden. Any changes to how the Ice Garden currently operates would not occur until September, Martel said. But the potential sale and conversion of the Garden throws the future of the building's many tenants into doubt. The loss of the 3,000-plus-seat arena would deal a severe blow to the various hockey teams and figure-skating programs that use the rink, plus the indoor football team currently in its inaugural season. The uncertainty over the Ice Garden can be traced back to the failed negotiations between the Billings Bulls of the Junior A North American Hockey League and MetraPark management over a new lease for the Bulls. Last month, after those negotiations broke down, Bulls ownership announced they were leaving the NAHL. Last week, during the league's Robertson Cup tournament in Boardman, Ohio, the NAHL board of governors terminated the Bulls franchise and approved the relocation of the Helena franchise to Michigan. That left the Bozeman Icedogs, the Ice Garden's primary tenant, as the only NAHL team in Montana. The prohibitive travel costs of replacing nearly half their road games with teams eight, 12 and 16 hours away instead of 90 minutes or two hours down the road made the likelihood of the Icedogs' return next season remote, at least in the NAHL. The Bulls will play in the Junior B NorPac next season, the same league as the Bozeman Blackhawks, Queen City Cutthroats in Helena and Butte Roughriders, among others. The long-term goal is to resurrect the old America West Hockey League. But the Blackhawks drew an average of just 207 fans to the Valley Ice Garden, hardly enough to offset the potential loss of the Icedogs, who drew almost 2,000 a game and still couldn't get the Ice Garden to turn a profit. As the events in Helena and Billings snowballed, the Martels decided to more aggressively pursue a buyer for the Ice Garden, which has led to the rampant rumors on TV, blogs and message boards. "It's been frustrating," Martel said. "Nothing has happened, but everybody is acting like it's a done deal. It's not. (The potential buyer) could still back out if he decides it would be cheaper to build from scratch."