Aces guaranteed home playoff dates

Under a new contract the minor-league hockey club has signed with the city and Sullivan Arena management contractor SMG, the Aces are guaranteed playoff dates at their home rink throughout the ECHL playoffs, which generally run from early April to early June.

The previous lack of such guaranteed dates, combined with a scheduling conflict with a trade show at Sullivan in April, forced the Aces to play their two home playoff games at the much smaller Menard Memorial Ice Arena 47 miles away in Wasilla.

"We should never, ever again be in a position like we were this year,'' Aces managing member Terry Parks said. "Certainly, it's peace of mind. We're glad we got it.''

Under the new contract -- which runs through Aug. 31, 2015, and can be extended with two one-year options -- Sullivan Arena agreed to make the facility available to the Aces, the building's most frequent tenant, in all future playoff rounds.

For instance, in a best-of-7 playoff series, the Aces would be guaranteed at least five dates in a period of 10 consecutive days in order to play home games. In a best-of-5 series, at least four dates would be reserved in a span of eight straight days. And in a best-of-3 series, at least two consecutive dates would be set aside for the Aces in stretch of six straight days.

The Aces in 2009 ran into a playoff scheduling conflict at Sullivan with the Native Youth Olympics. But the Aces and the Cook Inlet Tribal Council, which organizes NYO, worked out a deal in which the Aces paid Cook Inlet $15,000 to cover expenses and NYO moved from Sullivan to the Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center downtown.

Otherwise, Aces spokesman Jack Michaels said the team always dodged a bullet when it came to potential playoff scheduling problems.

In the spring, though, the Aces took a direct hit when their first-round home playoff dates conflicted with the massive Great Alaska Sportsman Show, which was already booked in Sullivan.

Moving the playoff games to Wasilla proved inconvenient for fans and the Aces -- not just because of the drive time and an unfamiliar venue, but also because the two games were held Monday and Tuesday nights, which meant most fans either had to work or attend school the following mornings.

The move to a distant rink also robbed the Aces of some of their home-ice advantage -- the two games at Menard averaged 1,805 fans, compared to the regular-season average at Sullivan of 4,697 fans per game. Plus, the Aces tailor their team to Sullivan's large Olympic-sized ice surface (200 feet long, 100 feet wide), and the narrower ice at Menard is what is called NHL-sized (200x85).

The unavailability of the Sullivan meant the Aces made less money on playoff tickets and concessions, and housed the team in Wasilla. Parks said all that cost the club $140,000.

"It was not a pleasant experience,'' he said.

The Aces use Sullivan, also home to UAA hockey and Alaska Fighting Championship mixed martial arts, more than any other tenant. Between exhibition games and regular-season games last season, the Aces played 38 dates in the arena. In the 2008-09 season, when the Aces advanced to the ECHL's Kelly Cup Finals, they played 48 home dates at Sullivan.

One consequence of the Aces' new contract with Sullivan is that Aurora Productions, the Anchorage company that organizes and runs the annual three-day Alaska Women's Show in Sullivan each April, has moved that event to the fall. Aurora Productions also puts on the Sportsman Show.

Steve Shepherd, owner and president of Aurora Productions, said the Women's Show, which has been around for 18 years, will be held Sept. 24-26 at Sullivan. Shepherd did not want nearly a year and a half lapse between last April's Women's Show, which he said drew 18,000 people to Sullivan, and the next Women's Show.

Shepherd said he requested a year's grace period from the city before moving the Women's Show from spring to fall, but that request was denied.

Joe Wooden, the regional general manager for SMG, did not return phone calls seeking comment. Ditto for city manager George Vakalis. Both signed the agreement with the Aces.

Shepherd said the four-day Sportsman Show, which drew about 30,000 folks to its 27th annual appearance in April and involved about 375 vendors, is his company's biggest event. The show conflicted with the playoff dates the Aces needed, but Shepherd said matters now appear to be resolved decently.

"At the time, it was very unsettling, and us against them, but we're all businessmen and we said, 'Let's just make lemonades out of lemons,' " Shepherd said.

One casualty for Shepherd, though, is that moving the Women's Show to the fall forced him to cancel the annual Winter Recreation and Travel Show, set for the same time period. The Winter Recreation Show has been around for 15 years.

"Unfortunately, they got the short end of the stick,'' Shepherd said. "We'll probably revisit it next year'' to consider resurrecting the event.

As for the annual Sportsman Show, it does not pose any conflict for the Aces next spring.

The Sportsman Show is set at Sullivan for March 31 and April 1-3, 2011.

During that stretch, the Aces will be on the road again -- this time, as scheduled. They'll be playing their last three regular-season games, all in Victoria, British Columbia.

Find Doyle Woody's blog at adn.com/hockeyblog or call him at 257-4335.