News Release

RiverKings Here To Stay
 

Southaven, Aug 17, 2002 - Civic Center breathes sigh of relief
Looks like RiverKings here to stay

By John Gaskill
gaskill@desotoappeal.com
August 17, 2002

With the purchase of the Memphis RiverKings by the Hernando-based Maddox Foundation, DeSoto Civic Center officials now appear to have what they've always wanted - a permanent tenant.

The sale of the team by Chen Sports to Maddox Hockey Inc., a newly formed subsidiary of the nonprofit grant-making foundation, was announced Friday, ending more than a month of speculation.

Local ownership makes the chance of the team leaving more remote than ever, said DeSoto County Convention and Visitors Bureau member Lamar Rodman.

"We would sure hope so," Rodman said. "You'd hope there'd be a close relationship, and that moving would be the last thing that would ever come up."

The CVB is the agency that oversees civic center operations and finances.

From the time the $40 million facility opened in September 2000, the Central Hockey League's RiverKings were the anchor tenant, assuring between 32 and 35 home games per season.

The following January, the team moved its offices to the facility.

But when reports started circulating last month that the 'Kings and the arenafootball2 Memphis Xplorers, both owned by Chicago-based Chen Sports, were on the auction block, the team's future became unclear.

A potential buyer outside the county was never named, but Rodman said officials did discuss the impact of losing the team.

"You always play 'what if'," he said. "It would have put us in a bind. It would have made us go find another hockey team, basically."

The purchase of the Xplorers is still being negotiated, Maddox executive director Robin Costa said.

Maddox Hockey will assume the remaining years of the team's lease with the facility.

The team pays $3,500 per game to the facility, $4,000 for games that exceed 6,000 in attendance.

With high-profile bookings in the facility's first two years uneven at best, the RiverKings provided the most consistent crowds.

And those crowds, said CVB member Dick Hackett, mean the team provides the facility more than rent.

"In addition to rent, there's concession revenue and parking revenue that impacts our profit," he said.

For the season that ended in April, the facility took in roughly $400,000 from rentals, concession and parking, Hackett said.

Officials agree that ownership by a local nonprofit will mean the team will be even more involved in the community.

"It's nice to have local ownership of the hometown team," CVB member Chuck Roberts said. "And when I talk about local, I'm talking about the region. I think (Costa) is committed to making this a regional team.

Costa echoed the regional approach when asked if the team might be headed for a name change.

"We haven't gotten that far yet," she said. "We plan to remain in DeSoto County, but it's not just a DeSoto team. It's a team of the Mid-South. The Mid-South RiverKings is probably a better name."

Costa said RiverKings coach Doug Shedden will stay, but Maddox is accepting resumes for other staff positions.