Long Beach Ice Dogs
Encyclopedia
{| style="margin:5px; border:1px solid #8888AA;" align=right cellpadding=3 cellspacing=3 width=240
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|colspan=2| Long Beach Ice Dogs
|- align="center"
|colspan=2|
|- align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|| Years Active || 1993–2007
|- align="center"
|| Home ice || Long Beach Sports Arena
|- align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|| Based in || Long Beach, California
|- align="center"
|| Championships || 1997 IHL finals Against the Houston Aeros
1998 Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Wolves
1996-1997 and 1997-1998 Western Conference Champions
|- align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|| Colors || Navy blue, gold
|- align="center"
|| Owner || Steven Bash
Ted Foxman
Isaac Bash, M.D.
|- align="center"
|| Website || http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Back-the-Long-Beach-Ice-Dogs/146486085421629
|- align="center"
The Long Beach Ice Dogs were a professional ice hockey
team in the ECHL
. They had suspended operations at the end of the 2006–2007 season.
The Ice Dogs trace their origins to the San Diego Gulls
, a team in the now-defunct International Hockey League that began play in 1990. In 1995, the team moved north to become the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. Due to poor attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
, the team was on the move again after just one season, this time to Long Beach, California
, where it retained the "Ice Dogs" name. In 2000, Barry Kemp, the television executive who had become the team's owner, withdrew the team from the IHL and moved it to the West Coast Hockey League
, where it remained until the league was folded in 2003 by the member clubs, which were then admitted into the ECHL at the behest of owners who had interests in both leagues. Kemp had sensed, correctly, that the WCHL was about to fold. The Ice Dogs played in the 1997 IHL finals against the Houston Aeros
.
The team played at the Long Beach Sports Arena, just one hundred yards from Long Beach Harbor. In 2005, it was forced to play first-round ECHL playoff games in the HealthSouth Training Center
, owned by the Los Angeles Kings
, when the Long Beach facilities were being used as garage space for the Champ Car
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
during the ECHL playoffs.
In the summer of 2006, Kemp sold the Ice Dogs to a new investment group led by Chicago businessman Ted Foxman. The new ownership group had plans to keep the team in Long Beach. The future of the team there had been uncertain because the Ice Dogs typically had the lowest average attendance in the ECHL. The owners also plan to promote boxing
cards at the Long Beach Arena.
On October 20, 2006, the Ice Dogs reached an affiliate agreement with the NHL's Boston Bruins
.
Team co-owner Steven Bash told the Press-Telegram that the team was simply losing too much money for it to continue operations. Although there was an outside chance that the team could operate next year in a different city, this is not considered to be very likely.
Bash added that the Ice Dogs were negotiating a buyout
of the remaining five years of their lease with Spectacor Management Group
, which operates the Long Beach Arena. If the team folds, a dispersal draft
would be scheduled within weeks for the players still under contract to the Ice Dogs.
As for Kemp, he was awarded an expansion franchise, that started in 2008 and plays in Ontario, California
. His team is known as the Ontario Reign
.
On June 18, 2007, during the ECHL Board of Governors Annual Meeting, the Ice Dogs membership in the ECHL was immediately terminated due to the Long Beach ownership group being unable to continue to operate in 2007–08.
|- align="center" bgcolor="#00004D"
|colspan=2| Long Beach Ice Dogs
|- align="center"
|colspan=2|
|- align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|| Years Active || 1993–2007
|- align="center"
|| Home ice || Long Beach Sports Arena
|- align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|| Based in || Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
|- align="center"
|| Championships || 1997 IHL finals Against the Houston Aeros
Houston Aeros
The Houston Aeros are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team plays in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.- History :...
1998 Western Conference Finals against the Chicago Wolves
Chicago Wolves
The Chicago Wolves are a professional hockey team playing in the American Hockey League. They are the top affiliate of the Vancouver Canucks of the NHL. The Wolves play home games at the Allstate Arena in the Chicago suburb of Rosemont, Illinois...
1996-1997 and 1997-1998 Western Conference Champions
|- align="center" bgcolor="#eeeeee"
|| Colors || Navy blue, gold
|- align="center"
|| Owner || Steven Bash
Ted Foxman
Isaac Bash, M.D.
|- align="center"
|| Website || http://www.facebook.com/pages/Bring-Back-the-Long-Beach-Ice-Dogs/146486085421629
|- align="center"
The Long Beach Ice Dogs were a professional ice hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team in the ECHL
ECHL
The ECHL is a mid-level professional ice hockey league based in Princeton, New Jersey with teams scattered across the United States...
. They had suspended operations at the end of the 2006–2007 season.
The Ice Dogs trace their origins to the San Diego Gulls
San Diego Gulls (1990–1995)
The second San Diego Gulls team was founded in 1990 as part of the International Hockey League. The Gulls played at the Valley View Casino Center, formerly known as the San Diego Sports Arena....
, a team in the now-defunct International Hockey League that began play in 1990. In 1995, the team moved north to become the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. Due to poor attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena
The Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena is a multi-purpose arena, in the University Park neighborhood, of Los Angeles, California, at Exposition Park. It is located next to the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, just south of the campus of the University of Southern California.-History:The Los Angeles...
, the team was on the move again after just one season, this time to Long Beach, California
Long Beach, California
Long Beach is a city situated in Los Angeles County in Southern California, on the Pacific coast of the United States. The city is the 36th-largest city in the nation and the seventh-largest in California. As of 2010, its population was 462,257...
, where it retained the "Ice Dogs" name. In 2000, Barry Kemp, the television executive who had become the team's owner, withdrew the team from the IHL and moved it to the West Coast Hockey League
West Coast Hockey League
The West Coast Hockey League was a professional minor ice hockey league active in the western United States from 1995 to 2003. The number of teams ranged from six to nine. The teams were located in Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington...
, where it remained until the league was folded in 2003 by the member clubs, which were then admitted into the ECHL at the behest of owners who had interests in both leagues. Kemp had sensed, correctly, that the WCHL was about to fold. The Ice Dogs played in the 1997 IHL finals against the Houston Aeros
Houston Aeros
The Houston Aeros are a professional ice hockey team in the American Hockey League. The team plays in Houston, Texas, at the Toyota Center. They are the AHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild.- History :...
.
The team played at the Long Beach Sports Arena, just one hundred yards from Long Beach Harbor. In 2005, it was forced to play first-round ECHL playoff games in the HealthSouth Training Center
Toyota Sports Center
The Toyota Sports Center is a practice facility for the Los Angeles Kings, Los Angeles Sparks, and the Los Angeles Lakers, located on 555 North Nash Street in El Segundo, California...
, owned by the Los Angeles Kings
Los Angeles Kings
The Los Angeles Kings are a professional ice hockey team based in Los Angeles, California. They are members of the Pacific Division of the Western Conference of the National Hockey League...
, when the Long Beach facilities were being used as garage space for the Champ Car
Champ Car
Champ Car was the name for a class and specification of open wheel cars used in American Championship Car Racing for many decades, primarily for use in the Indianapolis 500 auto race...
Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach
Long Beach Grand Prix
The Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach is an open-wheel race held on a street circuit in Long Beach, California. Christopher Pook is the founder and promoter which began as a vision while working at a travel agency in downtown Long Beach. It was the premier circuit in the Champ Car from 1996, and...
during the ECHL playoffs.
In the summer of 2006, Kemp sold the Ice Dogs to a new investment group led by Chicago businessman Ted Foxman. The new ownership group had plans to keep the team in Long Beach. The future of the team there had been uncertain because the Ice Dogs typically had the lowest average attendance in the ECHL. The owners also plan to promote boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
cards at the Long Beach Arena.
On October 20, 2006, the Ice Dogs reached an affiliate agreement with the NHL's Boston Bruins
Boston Bruins
The Boston Bruins are a professional ice hockey team based in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. They are members of the Northeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . The team has been in existence since 1924, and is the league's third-oldest team and its oldest in the...
.
Suspension of operations
On April 20, 2007, the ECHL announced the suspension of the team's operations, citing an item from the league's recent board of governors' meeting: "Long Beach owner (executive partner) Ted Foxman informed the Board that the Ice Dogs would not play in Long Beach Arena in 2007–08." The ECHL added that the team's status would be clarified at the league's next meetings in June.Team co-owner Steven Bash told the Press-Telegram that the team was simply losing too much money for it to continue operations. Although there was an outside chance that the team could operate next year in a different city, this is not considered to be very likely.
Bash added that the Ice Dogs were negotiating a buyout
Buyout
A buyout, in finance, is an investment transaction by which the ownership equity of a company, or a majority share of the stock of the company is acquired. The acquiror thereby "buys out" control of the target company....
of the remaining five years of their lease with Spectacor Management Group
Spectacor Management Group
SMG, formerly Spectacor Management Group, is a worldwide venue management group headquartered in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, that specializes in managing publicly owned facilities. SMG was a joint venture in general partnership form with two equal principals: The Hyatt Hotel Company and...
, which operates the Long Beach Arena. If the team folds, a dispersal draft
Dispersal draft
A dispersal draft is a process in professional sports for assigning players to a new team when their current team goes out of business, consolidates with another team, or for some other reason ceases to exist. Since most sports drafts are held in North America, this is where most dispersal drafts...
would be scheduled within weeks for the players still under contract to the Ice Dogs.
As for Kemp, he was awarded an expansion franchise, that started in 2008 and plays in Ontario, California
Ontario, California
Ontario is a city located in San Bernardino County, California, United States, 35 miles east of downtown Los Angeles. Located in the western part of the Inland Empire region, it lies just east of the Los Angeles county line and is part of the Greater Los Angeles Area...
. His team is known as the Ontario Reign
Ontario Reign
The Ontario Reign is a ice hockey team from Ontario, California that play in the ECHL. Their home arena is the Citizens Business Bank Arena. They are a minor league affiliate team of the Los Angeles Kings of the National Hockey League.-Team History:...
.
On June 18, 2007, during the ECHL Board of Governors Annual Meeting, the Ice Dogs membership in the ECHL was immediately terminated due to the Long Beach ownership group being unable to continue to operate in 2007–08.