Insider Update - Allen Events Center

Central Hockey League to announce new team, ownership this month

This month will be an exciting time for hockey fans in Allen, Texas as the Central Hockey League prepares to announce it's 17th franchise and seventh active team in the Lone Star State.

The original ownership group, led by two local business leaders, Mark C. Layton and Ian Dockrill had pulled out but the league soon found another group (as yet unnamed) to take their place. According to the league's Director of Communications, Bob Hoffman, the new ownership group has been very busy putting their organization together and preparing for this month's roll out. Hoffman confirmed that they are in the process of interviewing candidates for the general manager position and are preparing a new website to be introduced soon.

As seen with the addition of the expansion Rapid City Rush this season, things move very quickly once the new ownership is officially announced. Like Rapid City, the new club will have a "name the team" contest and will look to put together a coaching staff as its first order of business.

The new team, along with its counterpart in Independence, Missouri, will be integrated into the conference structure and another divisional realignment will be announced at the league's summer meeting in June.

Both teams will benefit from an expansion draft to be held this summer, in which the new head coaches will each be able to choose five players off a list compiled by the 16 other CHL franchises. Each team is required to expose four players but no team can lose more than one player.

The Allen Events Center is targeted for opening on November 9th inside one of the largest regional mixed-use life-style developments in the country, the 400-acre Village at Allen/Village at Fairview complex. It will be surrounded by two million square feet of retail, restaurant and office space. The development will include a full-service Marriott hotel and two parking garages.

The events center itself features 6,200 fixed seats for hockey and can accommodate up to 7,500 people in various seating configurations. Also featured are twenty six luxury suites, loge seating, and a VIP lounge. The center will also have a second-sheet community ice rink for adult and youth leagues and clinics.

Numerous events will be held annually including nationally touring concerts, family shows and of course, the facility will be the home for the CHL's Allen team. The events Center will also serve as a community resource for large gatherings or ceremonies such as graduations and similar events. Construction of the $52.6 million event center is a cooperative effort between the City of Allen, Global Entertainment Corporation and The MGHerring Group.

Since the Events Center will not be open in time for the opening of the 2009-10 season in October, the new team will play their first games on the road.

Here are some photos of the construction site taken on February 27th. As you can see, most of the structural steel and concrete for the shell of the building are in place.

The Allen Events Center has already opened a business office just off of the construction site where season tickets, premium seats and luxury suites are already being marketed. Just a few employees are in place there now, including General Manager Doug Waugh and Director of Sales, Mike Konderla.

Waugh most recently was employed by Center Operating Company, which manages the American Airlines Center in Dallas, Texas. Prior to joining the staff at the American Airlines Center, he was Director of Operations for Spurs Sports and Entertainment, which operates the SBC Center in San Antonio, Texas.

Located in Collin County, the richest county in Texas and the 23rd wealthiest county in the country, Allen is the home of the 2007 Texas Cup State Champion Allen (High School) Eagles Ice Hockey Club. The growing North Texas community is excited to have a professional hockey franchise in its midst. Other minor pro franchises in the county include the Frisco RoughRiders of AA Baseball and the Dallas Aviators of the Continental Baseball League. The 2008 Texas Collegiate League Champion McKinney Marshalls and the Texas Tornado Junior Hockey Club also make their home in Collin County.

For Texas Brahmas fans, not only will another rivalry be born but fans will have a short drive to make to see Brahmas road games just two counties away. Brahmas General Manager Mike Barack echoed that sentiment in an interview with the Insider last year.

"It’s going to be great," Barack said. "It’s going to give us a rival. It’s far enough away where we won’t be affected by sponsors and we won’t be affected by any overlap of fans. From an expense standpoint, from travel, that’s going to greatly reduce those costs and it’s going to be very exciting for the fans, our die-hard fans, to be able to cross the Metroplex and see the Brahmas. It’s only going to be a good thing."

You can visit the Allen Events Center website here

You can see a video about the Allen Events Center on the City of Allen website (look for it at the bottom of the home page). Click here

Photo Credits: Robert Keith/Artistic Rendering: MGHerring Group