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Can Youngstown learn from Erie?
By DAVID SKOLNICK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
It’s slightly above zero outside and not much warmer inside Louis J. Tullio Arena.
Even with the low temperature and a mediocre team that hasn’t taken Erie, Pa., fans to the playoffs since the 2004-05 season — unimpressive because 16 of the Ontario Hockey League’s 20 teams play in the postseason — 3,574 fans were at the arena to watch the Erie Otters lose another game.
Since 1996, the Otters of the OHL, a high-level junior hockey league for those between the ages of 16 and 20, have called the Tullio Arena home.
And that’s one of the main reasons why Otters games draw crowds, said Casey Wells, executive director of the Erie County Convention Center Authority, which runs the arena, and E. Shawn Waskiewicz, the team’s assistant general manager, administration.
But that doesn’t translate into a profit for the arena.
The Otters are the arena’s main tenants with 34 home games a season. Other tenants include the BayHawks, a National Basketball Association Development League team that plays 24 home games, and the Erie RiverRats, an American Indoor Football Association team that plays seven regular season games there.
Including concerts and other events, Tullio is used about 135 times a season, about the same as the Chevrolet Centre.
The 23-year-old Tullio Arena is in desperate need of a major renovation, one that would cost $42 million, Wells said.
There are five makeshift suites, limited food and beverage stands and not enough restrooms, Wells said.
Wells wants 14 suites, a food court, more and better restrooms, a bigger lobby, better and more seats. He wants hockey seating capacity to increase from 5,500 to 6,500, and concert seating capacity from 7,000 to 9,000.
The money isn’t coming any time soon. But Wells said he’s not giving up.
“Youngstown’s got it on us with a newer facility and better amenities,” he said. “But we don’t have any debt service on this facility. That’s a nice thing to not have.”
Youngstown owes $11.9 million for its share of the $45 million Chevrolet Centre. The city hasn’t paid a penny toward the principal and spends more than $600,000 a year in interest on that debt.
But the Chevrolet Centre finished its last fiscal year (October 2007 to September 2008) with a $31,506 deficit. The Tullio Arena lost about $300,000 last year, Wells said.
Like in the Mahoning Valley, high school football and basketball are the kings of sports in the Erie area, followed by professional football.
“We try to minimize the number of home games during the early part of the season,” said Waskiewicz. “We can’t compete against big high school football games.”
But unlike Youngstown, hockey in Erie isn’t too far behind in popularity.
“Otters fans are passionate,” said Victor Fernandes, a reporter who covers the Otters for the Erie Times-News, the area’s local newspaper.
So why does hockey work in Erie while it’s struggled in Youngstown?
Both are Rust Belt cities with a passion for sports. Both are a relatively short drive to major cities with professional sports.
The unemployment rate in Youngstown is higher than in Erie, which has a more diverse manufacturing sector and a thriving tourism industry, primarily thanks to its position on the shores of Lake Erie.
Those in Erie say hockey succeeds because of the city’s rich history with the sport dating back to the Erie Lions, a semipro team that started in 1964.
In comparison, hockey is in its infant stage in Youngstown. The Youngstown SteelHounds of the Central Hockey League played at the Chevrolet Centre for three years before being dropped from the league in August. The Phantoms, a North American Hockey League team for players between the ages of 16 and 20, are playing their first season at the center.
Work is being done to attract a hockey team to Youngstown for next season, but, to date, nothing has been announced.
If a team comes in, Eric Ryan, the Chevrolet Centre’s executive director, said he’d “definitely be happy” with attendance numbers similar to the Otters’.
Also, the stability of the Otters, a team that’s played at the Tullio Arena since 1996, and the involvement of the players in activities and events in Erie, help with attendance, those in Erie say.
“We have a history of hockey here,” Wells said. “It takes time and stability. It’s about getting people hooked on enjoying the experience and helping them understand the nuances of the game.”
Then there’s the city’s youth hockey leagues that have more than 1,000 skaters. Several of those kids become Otters fans. In comparison, there are about 350 kids involved in youth hockey in the Mahoning Valley.
“You get the young kids involved in hockey and they stay with it,” said John Leisering, Mercyhurst College’s director of hockey operations for the past 23 years and an Erie hockey historian who worked for several of the city’s former hockey teams.
One of the Otters’ main marketing targets is those involved in youth hockey, Waskiewicz said.
“Those are the families you market to,” he said. “We get involved with the community and work with nonprofits and youth groups. I’m convinced you can sell hockey as long as it starts with those organizations and groups. Also, you’re not selling the on-ice product. You can’t control what happens on ice, but you can control what happens off ice. It has to be full of promotions and entertainment. It’s not just a hockey game. It’s an event.”
The Otters have helped bring people to the city’s downtown, said Erie Mayor Joseph Sinnott.
“The Otters have an important impact on Erie,” he said. “Erie is a big hockey town. It’s a big hockey community. It’s a mainstay for our community. It’s something that’s been an economic driver for downtown.”
As far as being an “economic driver,” that’s not always the case.
Mickey Kielkucki, a manager at Molly Branigan’s Irish Pub on State Street, Erie’s main drag, is a huge hockey fan. His restaurant/bar, only a few blocks from the arena, offers 20 percent discounts for those who come to Branigan’s with an Otter ticket stub after a game.
“Sometimes we get people after the game, but we don’t get a whole lot,” Kielkucki said. “It’s not great: about a dozen” Otters fans.
But the Otters are the lifeblood of Keith Camp’s business.
His Skeeter’s Clubhouse & Grille, a sports restaurant that features chicken enchilada soup among its specials, is just a stone’s throw from the arena.
The place is packed before, during and after Otters games.
During?
“People come between periods for beer; it’s cheaper here” than at the arena, said Camp, who’s had the nickname “Skeeter” for most of his life.
“Erie is a hockey town,” Camp said. “There are passionate Otters fans. The team does a lot to help this area. The Otters are successful because they’re locally owned and they’re part of the community.”
There may not be a more passionate Otters fan than Terry Wirick of Girard, Pa., who’s missed four home games since the team came here in 1996.
Wirick, who wears a ball cap with pins from dozens of hockey teams, comes to the games with his wife, Tanya.
“I just love the game,” he said. “I’ve seen a lot of hockey, and the OHL is the best hockey we’ve seen in Erie. There’s a strong fan base.”
The Wiricks say they enjoy the social aspect of coming to Otters games as much as the action on the ice.
“I like sports at the Erie level,” he said. “It’s nice that you can afford to come to the games.”
Tickets for the Otters are $11.50 and $13.50 for adults, and $9.50 for children 12 years of age and under.
Terry and Liz Hokaj, of Erie, take their 6-year-old son, Luca, to every game.
Following in his father’s footsteps, Luca has played hockey since he was 2.
“I want to be a hockey player,” he said.
His mother says the people they sit near feel “like a close-knit family. Everybody is family.”
Diana Noe, of Erie, director of an Erie hairdressing school, says her company buys tickets for clients as a business investment.
“We use the Otters as an event for business because it’s fun and a good way to bring people together,” she said.
skolnick@vindy.com