Valley Beer Barn
  We should know more about the status of things in Bozeman on Monday, but it looks like the Valley Ice Garden is going to be converted into a giant beer warehouse. The Icedogs/Blackhawks (I suspect Jason Martel will pick one name or the other, much as Mike Butters will have to do with Helena/Queen City) would then go play in a smaller local rink when they shift to the AWHL. |
posted by Marc Foster at 5/19/2006 01:56:00 PM
Comments on "Valley Beer Barn"
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Anonymous said ... (3:30 PM, May 19, 2006) :
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Anonymous said ... (3:37 PM, May 19, 2006) :
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WCharles said ... (9:09 PM, May 19, 2006) :
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Anonymous said ... (9:40 PM, May 19, 2006) :
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Anonymous said ... (11:22 AM, May 20, 2006) :
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Anonymous said ... (2:40 PM, May 20, 2006) :
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Anonymous said ... (3:17 PM, May 20, 2006) :
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Anonymous said ... (10:34 PM, May 23, 2006) :
post a commentlooks like the 'Dogs shot to win anything legit was this year, but a Tornado got in the way. Looks like more A-dub struggles on the horizion.
Is there any where else to play in Bozeman besides the Ice Garden?
This is not good news. The Icedogs are a class organization, had a fantastic season, good attendence numbers, and this is how they get treated. That ain't right...
Give it all up and send junior hockey back to Canada. We are obviously not mature enough to support it here in the USA. Or push the NAHL south of the Mason-Dixon line since those are the only teams who draw more than 2,000 on a regular basis, eh?
We all knew he was going to sell it someday. His commitment to running a sucessful hockey program was less than inspiring. I can't believe with the interest in hockey in this comunity he can't make money. In other cities the rinks ice time are all used 7 days a week and late at night. But in order to do that you must be committed to "selling the game." Never did I see the Ice Garden send any type of news letter to it's potential customers trying to intice them to come play hockey. Even more important to get new members in children and adult ranks.He always seemed content with the current enrollment he had. I say it's high time we band together both the youth and adult leagues from Baha and the Ice garden. Let's build a new enclosed rink similar to Helena's but with two sheets of ice similar to Spokane's former Planet ice. One sheet could have bleachers for 1000 spectators so that maybe we could have a junior B team. If we don't band together hockey in Bozeman may be on it's downfall. Can you imagine trying to service all the hockey players in this community just on one sheet of ice at BAHA? Many adults and kids would stop playing. If we band toghether and put the petty differences aside we can build a rink, but the time is NOW, it will take time to build the new rink and fund raise. Let's drop Martel before he drops us. The only good thing to come of this is that both Baha and the Ice Garden programs will be forced together, as it should be. So we better learn to get along now. This may sound as though I skate at the Ice Garden but I don't anymore My children and I skate At BAHA for the past 3 years and we love it. But i don't know how much I will love it when it becomes overcrowded. Hockey seems to cycle as a fikle sport when it becomes to tiring to promote it seems to move somewhere else. Look at the long history of all the tems that have come and gone. You must find people to lead every step of the way to keep the fire burning. Inorder to love it you must be pushed to be inrtoduced to hockey, once that happens there's no turning back. Any way I doubt this will do any good but at least it made me feel a little better.
The Ice Garden was/is used early in the morning by the BFSC and late at night by adult leagues and the MSU Hellcats, by the way who Martel let skate for free. Martel's only fault is that he only charged the user groups a max of $150.00 / hour of ice for prime time and only $100.00 for non prime & summer (Basic supply and demand. If he charged more it would be utilized less. As demand increased he could increase fees). Even if the ice was utilized 100% 24-7 , 365 days a year, it would not pay the bills at an eight million dollar facility. They relied strongly on the ticket, concession and corporporate sponsorship revenue from the Icedogs to subsidize rink operations. With that source in jeopardy they were left few options. I am glad for them they found someone that could allow them to get out of this situation after all they put into it.
I agree with the previous (2:40)comment. They did all they could to maximize usage and revenue, but in the end Marc summed it up perfectly when he called it "too much arena for too small a town." Especially a town with a competing facility. Without any in-state competition for the IceDogs, the operation was simply unsustainable.
Yet another example of the NAHL showing a commitment to second tier organizations. Tier II for a reason, folks. It will never be the USHL, and shouldn't strive to be.