Columnist Dean Juipe: IHL team can succeed in Las Vegas

Dean Juipe

Monday, Jan. 10, 2000 | 9:57 a.m.

Dean Juipe's column appears Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday. His boxing notebook appears Thursday. Reach him at juipe@vegas.com or 259-4084.

Hockey appears to be inching back toward Las Vegas and it would seem to have a better chance of succeeding in this incarnation than it did in its previous one.

The International Hockey League has tried and failed in this market, yet there is good reason to believe the league will be back here for the 2000-01 season. If so, the outlook may be brighter than when the Las Vegas Thunder debuted in 1993.

The Thunder had some inherent problems that proved too difficult to overcome. As an independent, it didn't have the financial resources to afford the steep rental requirements of the Thomas & Mack Center as well as paying the contracts of its players and front-office personnel.

There just wasn't enough money to go around, not with the team drawing 5,000 fans per game.

The team lasted six seasons before it succumbed.

Its fan club still exists.

Those diehard fans will gladly welcome a new franchise earmarked for Las Vegas, one that will be affiliated with a National Hockey League team. Apparently the Vancouver Canucks are looking for a working agreement with an IHL team and Las Vegas is a good fit for them geographically.

The Canucks would send their top minor leaguers to Las Vegas and would pay their salaries. They would also pay the salaries of the coaching staff.

Suddenly, an IHL franchise here is marginally viable.

But don't look for it to play its games at the Mack.

The MGM Grand Garden has indicated a willingness to house the IHL franchise, which is curious in a way yet more likely than not beneficial to the prospective new team. Whether it's because the Grand Garden Arena isn't attracting the steady convention business it seemingly once catered to, or whether it's because MGM management once again feels the need to diversify, it is eager to get involved.

Of course it won't automatically succeed at the MGM, as the Arena Football League tried and failed at the same site. The built-in obstacle toward success is locals feeling as if the Grand Garden is inconvenient and that merely jousting with traffic at the corner of Tropicana and the Strip is exasperating and at times just too demanding.

But if the new team -- which probably won't be called the Thunder -- isn't saddled with player salaries and can draw 5,000 per night at the MGM, everyone involved will probably see it in a positive light.

(The Thomas & Mack Center would not appear to have an interest in bidding on the new team; not only is its ice-making machinery in need of an upgrade, the building has winter commitments to two UNLV basketball teams, one minor-league basketball team and, perhaps, another pro basketball team that's allegedly on the way.)

The complete picture and game plan may come into better focus at IHL meetings later this month.

Is there a need for hockey in Las Vegas?

Probably not.

But if the question is: Are there enough hockey fans in the valley that a well-funded team playing in a decent league and in a handsome, if tough to get to, venue can find its niche and succeed, the answer is absolutely yes.

It's not the NHL or hockey at its very best, but the IHL has its up side and will do until the real thing arrives.