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Landon, Falcons continue commitment to Valley 20 years later

Date: 1/22/2014

By Chris Maza

chrism@thereminder.com

SPRINGFIELD – Springfield Falcons President Bruce Landon vividly remembers when pro hockey nearly died in the City of Homes.

The Springfield Indians franchise, which had been the crown jewel of the Pioneer Valley sports scene, was sold by owner Peter R. Cooney after the 1993-1994 season to become the Worcester Ice Cats, leaving everyone wondering what, if anything, would happen next.

“It was announced at a home game here in April that the Indians were being sold and moved to Worcester. TV-22 was here at the time and they put a microphone in front of me and they basically said, ‘Well, what are you going to do now, Bruce?’” Landon, who was general manager of the Indians, recalled.

His answer was simple – try to keep hockey alive.

“To be honest, at that time I had no idea and no plan. It just came out of my mouth that I would see what I can do,” he said.

Watching the local news that evening was Landon’s longtime friend and teammate Wayne LaChance. His late-night phone call to Landon proved to be the spark.

“He said, ‘Let’s get together and talk’ and so the very next day we had a meeting and asked ourselves, ‘Can we do this?’” Landon recalled.

The two decided it was worth a try and immediately began looking for investors and working with the American Hockey League, headquartered in Springfield, toward the purchase of an expansion franchise, rapidly finding success in their endeavor.

“Within a two-week period, we had been able to put an investment group together and raised enough capital to apply to the American Hockey League for an expansion franchise,” Landon said.

The franchise was granted officially on May 4, 1994 and shortly after that the team advertised a “name the team” contest in the Union News and Sunday Republican.

The Falcons, in honor of the pair of peregrine falcons that nested at Monarch Place, was the resounding winner and under its new banner, a Springfield team faced off to start the 1994-1995 season, continuing a stretch of continuous professional hockey in the Valley that dated back to 1955.

Almost immediately, the Falcons found success, winning their division twice in its first four seasons and qualifying for the playoffs for five consecutive years from 1996 to 2001.

Since then, the Falcons have faced almost every challenge a professional franchise could, from affiliation issues to ownership changes to historically losing seasons. They qualified for the playoffs last year for only the second time in 13 seasons after the franchise’s impressive beginnings.

Now, however, having just celebrated its 20th anniversary at its Jan. 18 home win over the Providence Bruins, the product on the ice appears have turned the corner, chasing the league’s all-time wins percentage record.

Heading into this weekend’s three games – at Hartford on Jan. 24, then home against Bridgeport on Jan. 25 and Portland on Jan. 26 – the Falcons lead the Eastern Conference – and the entire league – in points with 60 in 40 games.

Manchester is second with 58, but needed 44 games to reach that mark. Grand Rapids has 57 points in 41 games to lead the Western Conference.

That success, Landon said, is due to a commitment from the team’s NHL affiliate, the Columbus Blue Jackets all the way down to head coach Brad Larsen and his staff to the player leadership on the team.

“I would say without any hesitation that Columbus has been just a fantastic partner. I’ve worked with a number of NHL teams and they all say the same thing and they’ve all been good partners, but for whatever reason Columbus’ commitment to us has been outstanding,” he said. “We’ve got a great team-first concept. We have National Hockey League scouts that come here and say that they can’t tell who our best player is from night to night, and that’s a testament to not only the level of skill, but the selflessness this team plays with.”

For the Falcons’ part, he said, the team has provided a quality facility for Columbus’ prospects to develop, and for the Pioneer Valley’s part, the players have a place they feel comfortable in.

Cody Bass, a Falcons fan favorite, summed it up to Landon last year when he said, “I want to play in the National Hockey League next year, Bruce, but if I’m not, I’d love to be back in Springfield.”

Landon said, “Once they get to know the area and the things to do in the area, they enjoy it. At the end of every year, I have conversations with our players as they head home for the summer and we get nothing but positive feedback on how they’re treated by the city, how they’re treated by fans, how they’re treated by the front office and by our staff.”

Even with the recent success, however, the Falcons have continued to struggle with one major obstacle – attendance. While characterized as being in a good hockey market, Springfield teams historically have averaged approximately 3,700 fans during the past 53 years, Landon said.

He and current owner Charlie Pompea have stressed that in order to be self-sustaining, the Falcons would have to draw between 4,000 and 4,500 on average. The Falcons have not drawn an average attendance of more than 4,000 since the 2002-2003 season, though last season, attendance nearly reached that level at 3,906.

“Everyone talks great hockey market and I think realistically it’s been a great hockey market that has been able to hang in there over a lot of years and a lot of different ownerships and a great hockey market because of the tradition and the history and the fantastic players that have gone through here,” Landon said. “But when you break it down to the bottom line attendance numbers, it’s only been an average hockey market from an attendance standpoint.”

With a playoff run last season and another one seemingly on the horizon this year, Landon said the theory that if the team wins, more fans will come doesn’t appear to be holding water.

“I kept hearing people say that. Well, last year we won the Northeast Division title, we made it into the second round of the playoffs and there was very little spike in attendance and people said, ‘Well, it was just one year,’” he said. “So here we go in year two, putting up unbelievable numbers right now and the attendance only jumps on the nights we have big group sales.”

That said, he noted he valued the fans the team had and pointed to the franchise’s efforts to put forth quality family entertainment beyond the on-ice product with special appearances and promotions.

Jan. 25, for example, is Red Sox day, complete with an appearance by Wally the Green Monster and on Jan. 26, the Falcons will host a post-game skate.

Appearances by New England Patriots linebacker Jerod Mayo and Boston Bruins forward Gregory Campbell are also scheduled for February.

“I think what we’re finding is it’s the family entertainment we provide, not just hockey, but all the other little things we do at every single game that is keeping people coming,” he said.