Operated 1995–2007 Founded 1993 | Division Eastern Colors Navy and Gold Color Navy and Gold | |
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Home arena Long Beach Sports Arena Arena Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center Affiliates | ||
Long beach ice dogs ice hockey
The Long Beach Ice Dogs were a professional ice hockey team based in Long Beach, California at the Long Beach Sports Arena. They played until the end of the 2006–07 ECHL season.
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History
The Ice Dogs trace their origins to the San Diego Gulls, a team in the now-defunct International Hockey League (IHL), that began play in 1990. In 1995, the team moved north to become the Los Angeles Ice Dogs. Due to poor attendance at the Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena, the team was on the move again after just one season, this time to Long Beach, California, where it retained the "Ice Dogs" name and played at the Long Beach Sports Arena. During the team's time in the IHL, it was coached by John Van Boxmeer. The Ice Dogs lost the 1997 IHL Turner Cup finals 4-games-to-2 against the Detroit Vipers. The Ice Dogs were also the first professional sports franchise to ever broadcast their full season (1997–98) schedule on the internet at Broadcast dot com with Ted Sobel calling the play the play for all five of their IHL seasons in Long Beach.
In 2000, Barry Kemp, the television executive who had become the team's owner, withdrew the team from the IHL and moved it to the West Coast Hockey League (WCHL), where it remained until the league was folded in 2003 by the member clubs, which were then admitted into the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL), at the behest of owners who had interests in both leagues.
In 2005, it was forced to play first-round ECHL playoff games in the HealthSouth Training Center, owned by the Los Angeles Kings, when the Long Beach facilities were being used as garage space for the Champ Car Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach during the ECHL playoffs.
In the summer of 2006, Kemp sold the Ice Dogs to a new investment group led by Chicago businessman Ted Foxman. The new ownership group had plans to keep the team in Long Beach. The future of the team there had been uncertain because the Ice Dogs typically had the lowest average attendance in the ECHL. The new owners also planned to promote boxing cards at the Long Beach Arena.
On October 20, 2006, the Ice Dogs reached an affiliate agreement with the NHL's Boston Bruins.
Suspension of operations
On April 20, 2007, the ECHL announced the suspension of the team's operations, citing that Ted Foxman informed the Board that the Ice Dogs would not play in Long Beach Arena in 2007–08. The ECHL added that the team's status would be clarified at the league's next meetings in June.
Team co-owner Steven Bash told the Press-Telegram that the team was simply losing too much money for it to continue operations. Bash added that the Ice Dogs were negotiating a buyout of the remaining five years of their lease with Spectacor Management Group, which operates the Long Beach Arena.
On June 18, 2007, during the ECHL Board of Governors Annual Meeting, the Ice Dogs membership in the ECHL was immediately terminated due to the Long Beach ownership group being unable to continue to operate in 2007–08.
Meanwhile, original owner Barry Kemp was awarded a new franchise, which relocated in 2008 to Ontario, California and were called the Ontario Reign.