The News Herald (Willoughby, OH)
Team, Mentor finalizing lease extension
Ice Breakers recently moved home games to opponent’s venue for extra money
Ice Breakers fans might be relieved to learn all is well and stable for Mentor’s entry in the Federal Prospect Hockey League.
Some uneasiness was felt among the Ice Breakers’ faithful last week when home games scheduled for Feb. 7 and 8 against the Columbus (Ga.) River Dragons were moved to
Georgia. The Ice Breakers lost those games, 10-1 and 7-3.
It was a matter of business, Director of Hockey Operations Nick Russo said Feb. 11 during a lengthy interview at the Ice Breakers’ office inside Mentor Civic Ice Arena. The bottom line is the Ice Breakers made more money splitting the gate for the games in Columbus than they would have had they been in Mentor, where 600 is considered a good crowd.
“Columbus’ stadium is over 3,000 seats,” Russo said. “It’s very similar to college football. This year the University at Buffalo played at Penn State. Buffalo got killed. But they got a cash cow. They got revenue ticket sharing.
“We make X-amount of money per home game after all our expenses — concessions, security, etc. If we move the games to Columbus, each game we tripled our revenue. That’s hard to give up.”
The Ice Breakers will do the same thing next month when home games with the Elmira Enforcers scheduled for March 5 and 6 will instead be played in Elmira. The schedule change means the Ice Breakers, currently 1421-0-3, will have to play eight of nine games on the road between March 1 and March 21.
“It was an opportunity in four games to make a boatload of money, which we need to infuse back into the organization to make some of the moves we’re making,” Russo said. “Yes, there’s a salary cap, but buses need to be fixed. Bills need to be paid, and it was a huge financial boost for the organization.”
The decision to switch venues was made on Jan. 25 in a conference call with the ownership of the Ice Breakers and River Dragons. Management is sympathetic
to disappointment fans fight experience when games they were looking forward to attending are played elsewhere than Mentor, Russo said, but the goal is to make the team better for the rest of this season and seasons to come.
The Ice Breakers, fourth in the FPHL East, are in position to make the playoffs in April. That will put additional money in the coffers, and that should put the Ice Breakers in position to be better next year.
Russo said the Ice Breakers and the city of Mentor are close to finalizing details on extending the lease at the Mentor Civic Ice Arena for the 2020-21 season. He said attendance this year has nearly doubled from last season, Mentor’s first in the FPHL, and he expects it to keep growing.
“In any business like this, you really don’t have longterm contracts,” Russo said. “It’s a minor league sport. But our ownership is 100
percent committed to being here. That doesn’t just mean this year. It means next year.
“The city of Mentor is putting money into the facility because we’re here. It’s a mutual relationship. I’ll tell you right now — that ice is as good as any arena in the country. This place has ‘great bones,’ we call it.”
Arena manager Bill Furman said the city of Mentor plans to install new bleachers in July. Other improvements include replacing the rubber flooring in the concession area and restrooms and giving a cosmetic upgrade to the entire upper level of the arena. He said the city is working on a grant to have automatic doors installed, which will make it easier for players on all levels to enter while carrying cumbersome bags filled with hockey equipment.
“We’ve had a very nice cooperative relationship with the Ice Breakers,” Furman said. “The lease extension is indeed in the works.
Ultimately the decision on how many years would be up to the Ice Breakers’ comfort level, but we are prepared to continue this ride for years to come.”
Meanwhile, Russo is making trades to make the Ice Breakers for the playoffs. On Feb. 11 he pulled off a deal to acquire defenseman Mark Steele from the Battle Creek Rumble Bees.
“It’s an arms race going into the playoffs,” Russo said. “We’re losing games. We don’t have (Austyn) Roudebush in goal right now. We have two good goalies, but we need to put a defense in front of them. The playoffs aren’t until April, but you begin preparing for them now.”
The Ice Breakers play in Port Huron Feb. 14 and 15. They conclude February with four straight home games – Feb. 21 (7:30 p.m.) and Feb.22 (6:30 p.m.) vs. Elmira and Feb. 28 (7:30) and Feb. 29 (6:30) vs. Port Huron.