IHL TO ENTER ANOTHER NHL MARKET -- THIS TIME L.A.

     IHL San Diego Gulls President and Managing General Partner
Fred Comrie announced he will move his IHL franchise to L.A. at
the end of the season.  Comrie has signed a three-year lease to
play in the L.A. Sports Arena, with an option for five more
seasons.  Comrie had been saying for months that he "needed a way
to stop the Gulls' financial bleeding," noting that the team was
on its way to a fifth straight season of operating losses.  The
Gulls are projected to lose around $1.2M this season, and
averaged fewer than 5,000 fans a game -- ranking 16th out of 17
IHL teams.  But yesterday, Comrie said his decision was based
solely on the San Diego's unwillingness to guarantee "him an
opportunity to play in the proposed new arena downtown."  IHL
Commissioner Bob Ufer announced that there is still a chance that
San Diego could field a team next year, and that he will meet
with two groups interested in keeping hockey in San Diego (Jim
Trotter, SAN DIEGO UNION-TRIBUNE, 1/6).