I received a request this week from a reader, in response to a discussion I briefly interjected myself into over on The Hockey Forum about the latest rink granted planning approval in England. This new rink will be in the city of Leeds. The request was for me to detail my thoughts on the rink and its proposed hockey programme.

Now, the crux of the debate seemed fairly simple on the surface: What level of hockey should be played in this new rink. Some folks said EIHL, some said EPIHL, and others said NIHL. Each group seemed to feel it was obvious that their option was the only way forward for the rink. But is it really just a case of picking a league and sticking a team in there?

So, a couple of facts first up. The rink in Leeds is just that. Its a rink. Not a ‘mini arena’ like Braehead, but an honest to goodness rink. It will only have 1,000 seats available, and the facilities are looking like being fairly standard, and unspectacular. Now, knowing this, I found it hard to believe that there were some fans caling for this rink to host an EIHL franchise. In my mind, if you were to build a rink with the intention of running an EIHL franchise, you would need to be looking at a Coventry Skydome sized building as a minimum. Anything under 2,500ish seats (plus standing) is too small. Sure, Hull is smaller (2,000 is the official capacity), but despite their best efforts over the years they are not a team ever likely to challenge for trophies, unless a wealthy benefactor steps up and bankrolls the team. The EIHL is a high cost league. You need to run with 11 imports and 6 or 7 Brits. And to be truly competitive, these all need to be of a high standard. And this cost money. Which means you need a higher level of income than a 1,000 seat building can draw in (in my opinion). At a guess, any team in Leeds trying the EIHL would have to charge an average ticket price of £12. Now, assuming they sell all 1,000 tickets, thats a gate of £12,000. But then you have to minus off VAT, wages, accommodation, travel, ice time, gym costs, equipment, advertising, insurance, etc. And even with a reasonable level of sponsorship, then I’d guess, based on experiences here in Manchester that the club would easily rack up a mid sized 6 figure debt in its first year.

But wht about the 2nd alternative, the EPIHL? Well, 1,000 seats is certainly big enough to run a team with. Most EPIHL teams survive with smaller gates than this, and the vest majority of you outgoings (ie player wages) are significantly lowered when placed next to EIHL levels. But even so, the EPIHL still represents a risk for a potential owner. 2 of the ‘big’ EPIHL sides exist solely because of their owners largesse (Slough and Guildford), and if they were to try and maintain their current levels of expenditure without this safety net, they would both likely fold due to accruing significant debts (John Hepburn has written of a near 7 figure sum over the past few seasons at Guildford).

And the NIHL? Well, in all fairness thats what I’d like to see them do. Start small, and build. Get the juniors set up and running, start an NIHL team, and build up the fanbase gradually. The cost base for NIHL makes it as risk free as possible, and in a totally new hockey town, you don’t have to worry about it being perceived as a ‘lower standard’ quite as much as you would in a town where there has been a previous team. Eventually, if things are properly managed, stepping up to the EPIHL could (and should) be an option.

To my mind, starting small, and growing through careful management and sound planning is the best way to build something for the city of Leeds which is sustainable long term. Whether this is the course taken, however, remains to be seen.