The whir of the Zamboni machine as it clears the ice surface can be heard throughout the arena. The scent of popcorn and stale beer is strong, and the lights shine from the breezy damp rafters onto the floor. The sound of hockey scrapes fills the arena.
A surge of adrenaline rushes through the crowd as the 23 hockey players appears. They enter the ice arena and start to stretch and skate and spin their webs. They are the 1995-96 expansion team in the International Hockey League, the San Francisco Spiders. The goalie does the splits as he clears the front of his goal net, and scratches the ice surface around him with his skates and stick. It is his job to make sure the rest of the 18 visiting teams in the IHL that enter the Cow Palace get caught.
For a cool $6 million, David Pasant, 43-year-old former president and CEO of Jackson National Life Insurance Co. from Los Angeles, has brought hockey back to San Francisco. The Cow Palace hasn't had frozen water on its floor since the Sharks departed two years ago to skate down south in San Jose.
According to 18 million IHL fans, this is good family-oriented hockey. It's nothing like NHL hockey, it's faster, more defensive and it's cheap.
The seats for an NHL hockey game have a hefty price tag ranging from $25 to $125 per seat. For an IHL game, fans can expect to buy a ticket and still have enough money left to buy peanuts and beer. Attendance is flourishing in the IHL. The league has already broken last year's attendance record of 3.5 million people. It's up by one million to date, and the 1994-95 season isn't over yet.
"The IHL is a league of unbelievable growth, and hockey will prove to be the sport of the decade, captivating people," says Kevin Gallant, who will broadcast games next season.
The new franchise is growing a little each month, and on Jan. 11, Jean Perron, 48-year-old ex-Canadian, was signed as coach and general manager. He is working out of his apartment, commuting between the organization's offices and to other IHL teams in the United States, scouting for players. "We are lucky to have him," Gallant says proudly. Perhaps Perron's luck will rub off on the team. His credits include leading the Montreal Canadians of the NHL to the Stanley Cup title in 1986 during his four-year position as coach, and assistant coach to the 1984 Canadian Olympic Team in Sarajevo.
What is flashy about Perron is his Stanley Cup ring. It drips with diamonds and experience. But that's not the only fancy things he's wearing these days. His black and white Spiders jacket carries a sinister red arachnid on a silver web, and it is already causing a stir. Team merchandise just hit the sales floor at J.C. Penny's, and kids ask him on the street as they see his jacket, "Where can we get tickets, how do we get tickets?"
Gallant says, "The IHL offers something people are wanting to see more of today, less expensive sports." The next step is selling tickets. "The biggest thing about IHL hockey is that the union and league require that half the seats are $10 or lessÑwhich makes it affordable for families," says Gallant.
Although TV and radio deals are in the infancy stage, just like the franchise, Gallant and Perron believe that the entertainment value is high for what people have to cough up at the box office.
"Players will kick butt every night because they want to be in the NHL," says Gallant. On the average, an IHL player makes about $60,000-$65,000 per season. With the salary budget capping at $1.25 million for all 24 players, Perron will have to figure how to stretch his dollar when shopping for quality players.
"The chemistry of a hockey club is like any other team sport, you need to start from the back to front," says Perron. And as the IHL skates into its 51st season this October, Perron lies awake, yet he is constantly dreaming. His dream team consists of one that is open in style, yet fast, as he plans of starting with the goalie, then defense, and on up the line to the offensive center, left wing, and right wing players.
Before Labor Day, Perron will have had the opportunity to hand pick five draft players from other IHL teams. But he is quick to quip, "If the players I see out there aren't good enough for other teams, then they may not be good enough for us."
Besides, Perron would like them to be able to get their noses dirty, and try to play defensively. He's concerned that they'll be hanging around the slot machines in Las Vegas while visiting the Thunder, and playing golf in Phoenix before they skate against the Roadrunners. "I don't want to give them a free ride to the top," he says with a discerning smile. At this point it is too early to tell who will sign, as all player negotiations are confidential, according to Perron.
Come October, San Francisco hockey fans will be able to afford hockey again. They will be able to see a left wing Spider skate circles around his opponent, and watch the beads of sweat cascade off the brow of Perron's dream goalie. And as the Cow Palace slowly transforms into "Charlotte's Web," Gallant says in his play-by-play action voice, "We're hoping that the visiting team will get arachnophobia when they enter the building."
The puck drops October 15. For ticket information and season seats, phone the Spiders Box Office at (415) 656-2000.
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