Enough blame to share

The very public dispute between SteelHounds owner Herb Washington and Phantoms owner Bruce Zoldan is a depressing look into the window of what makes this region so unique.
Ever heard the phrase, "Only in Youngstown"? Well, this is what it means:
Zoldan's Mahoning Valley Phantoms of the North American Hockey League won a bid last summer to host the league's championship tournament over six days in April.
Zoldan and the NAHL wanted to hold the tournament at the Chevrolet Centre downtown, which seats about six times as many fans as the Phantoms' regular home, The Ice Zone in Boardman.
The hockey tenant at the Chevrolet Centre, the SteelHounds of the Central Hockey League, is owned by Herb Washington, who has several clauses in his lease with Global Entertainment, which runs the arena for the city, allowing him to exclude other hockey and professional events at the arena.
Washington exercised that option, first citing the possibility that the SteelHounds could be involved in the CHL playoffs and the NAHL games would conflict with those possible home dates. Then, on Friday, Washington released a statement, again denying access to the arena because he said he was not told all the facts.
What's so hardabout this?
It's obvious that a compromise could -- and should -- have come easily and quickly.
What prevented it from happening was, essentially, a rivalry between two men that has escalated since Washington took ownership of the SteelHounds.
And both men should share the burden for this event not taking place downtown.
Should Zoldan and the NAHL been more up front with Washington from the start? Yes.
Should Washington get over it? Yes.
Even several days of mediation by Youngstown Mayor Jay Williams and his chief of staff, Jason Whitehead, could not help to reach a satisfactory conclusion.
So, the tournament will be played at The Ice Zone -- not the first choice for Zoldan or the NAHL -- or Wheeling, W.Va., or Erie, Pa.
Like it or not,hockey does matter
You might be wondering, what does it matter? Hockey interest in the Valley, even with the advent of the SteelHounds and the new arena, probably doesn't rank very high against high school, college and professional sports.
But it does matter, for a couple of reasons.
One, the last time I checked, the Chevrolet Centre is owned by the city of Youngstown and I'm a little irked that City Hall can't be involved as much more than an intermediary.
Two, the city's residents should be concerned that the building they paid for -- and in essence own -- will more than likely sit empty, thanks to the actions of two private businessmen.
Only in Youngstown.
Downtown stadiumstill a possibility
Another downtown project I'd still like to see become a reality is the all-purpose stadium proposed by former Chaney High and NFL standout Michael Zordich and local architect Ray Jaminet.
First announced almost two years ago, the project appeared dead when Zordich and Jaminet approached the city and were greeted with little more than blank stares. But, we learned from Zordich recently that mayor Williams seems receptive to at least talking about it and that's enough to keep the former NFL All-Pro hopeful that it will someday become a reality.
One ex-coach joked to me that he would be in "the happy hunting ground" before the stadium is built, and admittedly this is no small undertaking.
But the positives of such a facility far outweigh the negatives that always seem to dominate the conversations about it. In the end, it's probably going to take a great deal of private funding but in my opinion, it will be money well spent.
Rob Todor is sports editor of The Vindicator. Write to him at todor@vindy.com.