June 6, 2007
Tentative Deal Struck to Save Lowell
CHN Staff Report
LOWELL, Mass. — Lowell city officials have struck a tentative deal that will keep the Massachusetts-Lowell ice hockey program playing at Tsongas Arena for at least one more year, the Lowell Sun is reporting.
City Manager Bernie Lynch has been conducting meetings with UMass-Lowell athletic director Dana Skinner in hopes of brokering a deal.
Lowell's hockey program has been in danger of being eliminated, first because of philosophical issues raised by new Board of Trustees Chair Stephen Tocco in February, and then over economic concerns. Tocco, for years, articulated philosophical concerns over the Lowell hockey program.
Bringing in Marty Meehan, in March, as the school's new chancellor was thought to be a positive sign, but the economic issues still lingered. A task force was created, and its report came back focusing only on the economic issues, particularly, the deal between the school and city-owned Tsongas Arena. The Board of Trustees said it needed a better agreement in place by its June 21 meeting or else it recommended disbanding the program.
The deal, according to Lynch and the Lowell Sun, "would eliminate the university's annual $50,000 contribution to the arena, give UMass Lowell a bigger piece of food and beverage sales during its 17 home hockey games and a 50-50 split advertising sold on the arena's exterior billboard and provide written agreement that no professional hockey games will be played as doubleheaders with university games."
"It's something that I feel comfortable agreeing to and bringing to the council for their vote," Lynch told the paper. "We're ready to make it work for the upcoming year and hopefully beyond. Hopefully, we'll get a long term commitment from the trustees that they're interested in staying in Lowell.
Skinner could not be reached for comment, but Meehan said the deal was confirmed to him by Skinner.
"It certainly is a great first step," Meehan told the Lowell Sun. "It means that we'll have Hockey East next year. Obviously, we'll see how things work out in the future, but there's a real opportunity to forge a new partnership."
