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New Western Pro Hockey League trying to launch

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CrazyEddie20 said:
Affiliated minor league baseball is what I'm talking about. I know indy ball exists, and I've been to a few games, but generally, it's professional baseball if it were run by the minds behind the FHL. While there have been some long-term successes, there have also been myriad failures.
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The Pecos League, yes. The Atlantic, Frontier, and now Pioneer (forced into Indy ball by the MiLB contraction) and the American Association (not to be confused with the old Triple-a circuit of the same name) are on a business ops level much closer, if not equal to, to the ECHL.
 
CrazyEddie20 said:
Then throw in the arena equation - if you have to draw 4,000 just to break even, which is probably in the ballpark for most midsized arenas, that's a lot. Now make it a product that's not affiliated with and not subsidized by the NHL, and where no player is going to the highest level, and fairly often, not many are even going to the next level - not sure fans are going to want to see that. With baseball, even the short-season Class-A teams had guys who went on to be big stars in the Majors. No one has gone from the SPHL to being a star in the NHL. You could almost say the same for the ECHL. Sure, there are more arenas than there are teams, but there's a reason for that - the arena operator knows it's more profitable to not have hockey than to have hockey.
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Looking back at this, you hit on another difference between indoor and outdoor sports in America - and thus hockey and baseball.

If someone buys a minor league baseball team, it's because they specifically want to be in the baseball industry, many times as a combination hobby/tax write-off. Yes, other forms of entertainment can be put on in a ballpark and there is money from renting out the venue for wedding, reunions, business meetings, etc., but you don't build a ballpark if you're not going into the baseball business.

Arenas, on the other hand, are much more multipurpose and therefore tend to gravitate towards the most profitable uses. Also, outside of the upper echelons of hockey and basketball, they are rarely owned and/or controlled by the professional team (arenas are a largely closed industry controlled by a few arena management companies who either own or manage virtually all the arenas - and the ones they manage are usually owned by some level of government - or a state university). This makes the costs of owning a team far too high for the wealthy fan/would-be hobbyist owner - at least without crippling their ability to do it right,
 
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https://www.montanasports.com/more-sports/minor-league-hockey-headed-to-billings

A couple of notes:

Billings to Las Vegas is a 14-hour bus drive, per Google Maps. So you'd need a bus and two drivers to cover that distance legally. Or you could fly!

The article states, "The WPHL previously staged minor league hockey from 1996-2001, mostly in the south, before merging with the Central Hockey League. Teams were based in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and New Mexico. The WPHL started with six teams in the 1996–97 season and grew to 18."

This gongshow is in no way related to the WPHL, the same way the rebranded UHL was not the same as the original IHL.
 
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Jackets Woodchuck said:
And competing with better hockey in two of those three markets.
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And in both of those things - geographic distance and better hockey at a similar price - lies the folly in this endeavor.

But Frank Santelli is a "pro hockey player" who has nowhere to play because he sucks, so he's just starting his own league for guys like him: Pros overlooked because of their lack of skill, but who deserve to play pro hockey because they think they do.
 
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CrazyEddie20 said:
https://www.montanasports.com/more-sports/minor-league-hockey-headed-to-billings

A couple of notes:

Billings to Las Vegas is a 14-hour bus drive, per Google Maps. So you'd need a bus and two drivers to cover that distance legally. Or you could fly!

The article states, "The WPHL previously staged minor league hockey from 1996-2001, mostly in the south, before merging with the Central Hockey League. Teams were based in Texas, Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi and New Mexico. The WPHL started with six teams in the 1996–97 season and grew to 18."

This gongshow is in no way related to the WPHL, the same way the rebranded UHL was not the same as the original IHL.
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It seems like this Billings sports reporter just pulled, and edited the info in the opening paragraph to the WPHL Wikipedia page. I doubt they are well versed in the WPHL history and connections this league doesn't have to the former one. Western Professional Hockey League - Wikipedia

There is another question to address being: does the ECHL now hold the rights to the WPHL name since they absorbed the CHL?
I doubt that these WPHL people do.

My understanding of the UHL to IHL rebrand was that the Komets ownership at least had the rights to the IHL name.
 
mk80 said:
It seems like this Billings sports reporter just pulled, and edited the info in the opening paragraph to the WPHL Wikipedia page. I doubt they are well versed in the WPHL history and connections this league doesn't have to the former one. Western Professional Hockey League - Wikipedia

There is another question to address being: does the ECHL now hold the rights to the WPHL name since they absorbed the CHL?
I doubt that these WPHL people do.

My understanding of the UHL to IHL rebrand was that the Komets ownership at least had the rights to the IHL name.
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That's a good question re: the WPHL trademarks. I've searched TESS to see what the ECHL does own, and they do own all the Central Hockey League's trademarks. The great Hans Hornstein would remind you that the post-merger Central Hockey League was actually WPHL, Inc. doing business as the Central Hockey League. The real WPHL's trademarks are all dead, meaning that these clowns can use them with impunity if they so desire.

The original IHL trademarks expired in 2006, and then the UHL rebranded itself the next year.
 
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CrazyEddie20 said:
That's a good question re: the WPHL trademarks. I've searched TESS to see what the ECHL does own, and they do own all the Central Hockey League's trademarks. The great Hans Hornstein would remind you that the post-merger Central Hockey League was actually WPHL, Inc. doing business as the Central Hockey League. The real WPHL's trademarks are all dead, meaning that these clowns can use them with impunity if they so desire.

The original IHL trademarks expired in 2006, and then the UHL rebranded itself the next year.
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Even if the ECHL still held the IP, this league - much like the ABA - doesn't have enough $ to be worth suing.
 
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mk80 said:
A lot of times it’s less about money, and more about protecting your intellectual property.
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Correct. If you don't defend your IP, someone using it could invoke the doctrine of laches as a defense. Essentially, if you don't defend your IP and you know someone else is using it, you're essentially indicating you're ok with letting them infringe on your property rights and can't then say, "Well, we trademarked this!" if you sue sometime down the road.
 
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Some info from the Billings announcement - Pro Hockey is Coming to Billings in 2022. Help Name the Team

The WPHL is a single "A" league with plans to have 8 teams for the 2022 inaugural season. Four will be located in or around Texas with four teams in the Upper Midwest/Mountain region. There will be 48 games each season; 24 in Billings and 24 on the road. Players will be 21+ and each team will feature at least 3 "hometown heroes", aka local players.
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So, Las Vegas and Montana is considered "upper midwest/mountain?" This footprint is going to be something.
 
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CrazyEddie20 said:
Correct. If you don't defend your IP, someone using it could invoke the doctrine of laches as a defense. Essentially, if you don't defend your IP and you know someone else is using it, you're essentially indicating you're ok with letting them infringe on your property rights and can't then say, "Well, we trademarked this!" if you sue sometime down the road.
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As well as risk damaging your brand or a former brand of yours
 
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