The Las Vegas Thunder "all but officially died Friday"
when Thomas & Mack Dir Pat Christenson said the building
would "no longer house" the IHL franchise, according to
Kevin Iole of the LAS VEGAS REVIEW-JOURNAL. Christenson: "I
don't see the viability of the league in the West." IHL
President Doug Moss: "Perhaps the thing to do is to take a
year or two off and then to come back in a new building in a
solid situation." Thunder co-Owner Ken Stickney: "We gave
it our best shot, and we put our money where our mouth is.
... It's just a combination of things. We're not the first
(pro) team this has happened to in Las Vegas" (REVIEW-
JOURNAL, 4/10). In Las Vegas, Tim Graham wrote, "Whether
it's the fault of management or our city's dynamics, the IHL
just doesn't work here right now" (LAS VEGAS SUN, 4/9).
KOMETS DOWN TO EARTH? Ft. Wayne Komets GM David Franke
"reiterated" last week that "unless his organization signs
an NHL affiliation" with the Senators, he "expects" the
Komets to move to a lower-level league next year, most
likely the UHL. The Komets have lost an "estimated"
$400,000-600,000 each of the past four years. Franke: "If
we pull out of the IHL, I'd bet money that down the road
there will probably be some movement out of Indianapolis and
out of Kalamazoo" (INDIANAPOLIS STAR-NEWS, 4/11).
