Columnist Tim Graham: IHL should let Thunder die quietly

Tim Graham

Friday, April 9, 1999 | 2:10 a.m.

Tim Graham's column appears Thursday. His media notebook appears Wednesday. Reach him at tim@lasvegassun.com or 259-4078.

The International Hockey League might want to hear what the Thunder's die-hard fans have to say before it continues its mission to keep a team in Las Vegas.

The IHL insists Las Vegas is a crucial market. League president and chief executive officer Doug Moss claims hockey can be successful here if it's done properly.

That's why Moss has gone out of his way to do the work the Thunder's ownership is either incapable or unwilling to do and find a place for the struggling team to play next season. His efforts have been futile.

Here's a tip, Doug: Save the IHL's time and money and find another project to take care of.

There are too few die-hard Thunder fans remaining, and even they are starting to grow apathetic.

"It's the ownership," Mark Heisey said Thursday night from his perch above the goal at the open end of the Thomas & Mack Center. The Thunder was in the process of losing 4-1 to the Detroit Vipers and getting officially eliminated from the Turner Cup playoff hunt.

"I think it's gone downhill."

The megaphone-toting Heisey could be the Thunder's No. 1 fan. The 39-year-old retired Air Force worker is known as the "Sign Man" for the dozens of home-made posters he flashes from The Thunder Zone, which he created on the team's opening night.

"There have been a lot of rumors," said Heisey, who has held season tickets since the team's inception in 1993. "I heard when Mandalay Sports came in that they were going to market the team, but that was a rumor, too. I haven't seen that."

Julie Green and Jo D'Elia are more than ardent fans. As members of the Las Vegas Thunder Booster Club, they publish a newsletter, stage the team's annual awards banquet and put together scrapbooks for the players. When Thunder stories appear in the paper, they cut them out as keepsakes.

Green was asked how many die-hard fans the Thunder has.

"Let's see," the 30-year-old nightclub worker said. She then started to name them while jokingly counting on one hand.

D'Elia, a 28-year-old office manager, estimated there were two or three hundred die-hards -- not nearly enough to sustain a pro sports franchise.

"Most people in Las Vegas," D'Elia said, "do they even know we have a team?

"It used to be you'd see billboards, TV ads, guys going on the radio shows. This year, I don't think I've seen one advertisement.

"You have to build fans. It takes time to get people out here and then to keep them here. The Thunder didn't work on that."

A lack of promotion is just one of the signs -- and Heisey didn't print these up -- that Thunder management couldn't care less about commitment.

Other indicators include downsizing its staff and the fact no employee other than coach Bob Bourne has a contract after this season. General manager Bob Strumm has been working on a handshake agreement for about two years.

"They can't blame people for not coming," D'Elia said. "They should be thankful for the people who do come here."

If that's the case, Mr. Moss, what do you intend to build on? What do you want to do with Las Vegas other than maintain it as a playground tour stop for league and franchise executives?

Whether it's the fault of management or our city's dynamics, the IHL just doesn't work here right now.