Miami Matadors
Encyclopedia
The Miami Matadors were an ice hockey
team in the East Coast Hockey League. They played in Miami, Florida
, USA at the Miami Arena
for one season before folding. The Matadors franchise would resurface several years later as the Cincinnati Cyclones
.
in 1995. Robert Snyder bought the team in February 1998 with intentions of moving the team to South Florida. Upon buying the team, he made the team a family business of sorts. His wife Michelle Dannin was named Vice President Of Communications, and his father Richard Snyder handled the team's legal matters.
On May 12, 1998, Matadors Owner-President Robert Snyder signed a five year agreement with Miami Arena that would allow the arena to host 35 games from October until April 4. A coaching decision was made several days later when Snyder would name former Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
head coach Terry Christensen as their head coach on May 16, 1998. Prior to the start of the 1998-99 ECHL season, the Matadors would announce that they would be the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Florida Panthers
On October 16, 1998, the Matadors made their ECHL debut against the South Carolina Stingrays
. Fans that attended the opening night game received a Miami Matadors cape. With an opening night crowd of 3,368 fans, the Matadors lost to the Stingrays 5-2
In their only season as an ECHL franchise, the Matadors finished with a 28-32-10 record, finishing seventh in the ECHL's Southeast Division. The team's leading scorer was ex-Brown University center Michael Flynn, with 20 goals and 50 assists; center Greg Clancy was the leading goal scorer with 28. Among other notable Matadors were veteran minor league star Sheldon Gorski and goaltender Brent Belecki
.
and $273 to see the Matador's NHL affiliate, the Florida Panthers. Both the Heat and the Panthers were also tenants of Miami Arena.
Despite being involved with the community, the Matadors were never able to draw a crowd at the Miami Arena. The Matadors played in the 14,823 seat Miami Arena. Because of attendance problems, the upper bowl seats were never made available to the public. As a result, the lower bowl's were the only seats available, which reduced Miami Arena's seating capacity from 14,823 to 6,351. Even with the reduction in capacity, the Matadors never were able to sell out a single home game. The ECHL average attendance was about 4,800 fans per game, but the Matadors were only drawing 1,553 fans per game.
The lack of attendance also took a financial hit on the team. Owner Robert Snyder moved the games from Miami Arena to a local public skating rink because he could not afford to play in Miami Arena on a weeknight. Despite Snyder's offering free attendance to a game vs the Pee Dee Pride
on March 3, 1999, only an estimated eighty fans showed up to watch the game.
Attendance became such a problem that the last two games were played in Estero, Florida
at Germain Arena
, home of the Florida Everblades. Matadors season ticket holders were given free tickets to the games there, though most chose not to make the two-hour drive.
The team was eventually sold to a Birmingham, Alabama ownership group. Upon the folding of the IHL, the ownership relocated the Matadors' franchise and bought the rights to the Cincinnati Cyclones
name that had been used since 1992. On July 16, 2001, it was confirmed that the "new" Cyclones franchise would start play as an ECHL team during the 2001-2002 season.
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team in the East Coast Hockey League. They played in Miami, Florida
Miami, Florida
Miami is a city located on the Atlantic coast in southeastern Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States with a population of 2,500,625...
, USA at the Miami Arena
Miami Arena
The Miami Arena was an indoor arena in Miami, Florida.-History:Completed in 1988, at a cost of $52.5 million, its opening took business away from the Hollywood Sportatorium and eventually led to its demise...
for one season before folding. The Matadors franchise would resurface several years later as the Cincinnati Cyclones
Cincinnati Cyclones
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena....
.
History
The franchise began as the Louisville River FrogsLouisville River Frogs
The Louisville River Frogs were a professional ice hockey team competing in the East Coast Hockey League. The team was based in Louisville, Kentucky and played from 1995-1998. Their home venue was Broadbent Arena at the Kentucky Exposition Center...
in 1995. Robert Snyder bought the team in February 1998 with intentions of moving the team to South Florida. Upon buying the team, he made the team a family business of sorts. His wife Michelle Dannin was named Vice President Of Communications, and his father Richard Snyder handled the team's legal matters.
On May 12, 1998, Matadors Owner-President Robert Snyder signed a five year agreement with Miami Arena that would allow the arena to host 35 games from October until April 4. A coaching decision was made several days later when Snyder would name former Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
Tallahassee Tiger Sharks
The Tallahassee Tiger Sharks were a minor professional ice hockey team that played in the ECHL from 1994–2001. Under this period they served as a minor league affiliate to New York Islanders , Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens....
head coach Terry Christensen as their head coach on May 16, 1998. Prior to the start of the 1998-99 ECHL season, the Matadors would announce that they would be the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Florida Panthers
Florida Panthers
The Florida Panthers are a professional ice hockey team based in Sunrise, Florida, in the Miami metropolitan area. They are members of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference of the National Hockey League . They play their games at the BankAtlantic Center in Sunrise and are the...
On October 16, 1998, the Matadors made their ECHL debut against the South Carolina Stingrays
South Carolina Stingrays
The South Carolina Stingrays are a professional minor league ice hockey team based in North Charleston, South Carolina. The Stingrays play in the South Division of the ECHL's Eastern Conference. They play their home games at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Carolina Ice Palace, also located in...
. Fans that attended the opening night game received a Miami Matadors cape. With an opening night crowd of 3,368 fans, the Matadors lost to the Stingrays 5-2
In their only season as an ECHL franchise, the Matadors finished with a 28-32-10 record, finishing seventh in the ECHL's Southeast Division. The team's leading scorer was ex-Brown University center Michael Flynn, with 20 goals and 50 assists; center Greg Clancy was the leading goal scorer with 28. Among other notable Matadors were veteran minor league star Sheldon Gorski and goaltender Brent Belecki
Brent Belecki
Brent Belecki is a former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the Western Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League, Central Hockey League, United Hockey League, and American Hockey League....
.
Attendance
One of the primary selling points of the Matadors to the fans was the inexpensive ticket prices when compared to other sports. Snyder marketed to fans that a family of four could see a Matadors game for $50, which was a fraction of what you could see other professional sports teams in the area. During the 1998-99 season it would cost a family of four $223 to see the NBA's Miami HeatMiami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
and $273 to see the Matador's NHL affiliate, the Florida Panthers. Both the Heat and the Panthers were also tenants of Miami Arena.
Despite being involved with the community, the Matadors were never able to draw a crowd at the Miami Arena. The Matadors played in the 14,823 seat Miami Arena. Because of attendance problems, the upper bowl seats were never made available to the public. As a result, the lower bowl's were the only seats available, which reduced Miami Arena's seating capacity from 14,823 to 6,351. Even with the reduction in capacity, the Matadors never were able to sell out a single home game. The ECHL average attendance was about 4,800 fans per game, but the Matadors were only drawing 1,553 fans per game.
The lack of attendance also took a financial hit on the team. Owner Robert Snyder moved the games from Miami Arena to a local public skating rink because he could not afford to play in Miami Arena on a weeknight. Despite Snyder's offering free attendance to a game vs the Pee Dee Pride
Pee Dee Pride
The Pee Dee Pride was a minor-league hockey organization housed in Florence, South Carolina, where they played from 1997 until 2005. The organization, which is one of the five charter members of the East Coast Hockey League , was originally housed in Knoxville, Tennessee and was known as the...
on March 3, 1999, only an estimated eighty fans showed up to watch the game.
Attendance became such a problem that the last two games were played in Estero, Florida
Estero, Florida
Estero is a census-designated place in Lee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 census, the CDP population was 18,176. It is the home of Germain Arena, which hosts the home games for the Florida Everblades ECHL hockey team and the Florida Firecats af2 arena football team...
at Germain Arena
Germain Arena
Germain Arena is a 7,128-seat multi-purpose arena in Estero, Florida, United States.The arena was first named Everblades Arena in 1998 after the hockey team that played there. TECO Energy was the first company to obtain the naming rights to the building, changing the name to TECO Arena. In 2004,...
, home of the Florida Everblades. Matadors season ticket holders were given free tickets to the games there, though most chose not to make the two-hour drive.
Current
After months of poor attendance and mounting debt in their inaugural season, the Matadors franchise was folded in 1999. During the sale of the team, a lawsuit was filed by Robert Alterman accusing the team's general partners (Robert Snyder and Robert Davis) of fraud. Alterman, a limited partner who has a 20% ownership share of the team, accused both Snyder and Davis of selling the team for well below the value that was represented to Alterman. Davis and Snyder had listed the team as being for sale for $1.2million. Alterman argues in his lawsuit that Davis and Snyder informed him that no team could be sold for less than $2millionThe team was eventually sold to a Birmingham, Alabama ownership group. Upon the folding of the IHL, the ownership relocated the Matadors' franchise and bought the rights to the Cincinnati Cyclones
Cincinnati Cyclones
The Cincinnati Cyclones are a professional hockey team based in Cincinnati, Ohio. The team is a member of the ECHL. Founded in 1990, the team first played their games in the Cincinnati Gardens and now play at U.S. Bank Arena....
name that had been used since 1992. On July 16, 2001, it was confirmed that the "new" Cyclones franchise would start play as an ECHL team during the 2001-2002 season.
Transactions
- 05/19/98 - Matadors name Terry Christensen head coach.
- 10/21/98 - Matadors transfer defenseman Thom Cullen from the 10-day to the 14-day injured reserve; Matadors place forward Jan Jas on the 10-day injured reserve.
- 11/05/98 - Matadors activate Thom Cullen from 14-day injured reserve
- 11/15/98 - Matadors suspend center/left wing Mike Sancimino
- 12/08/98 - Matadors trade defenseman Wes Swinson and forward Mike Sancimino to Tallahassee Tiger SharksTallahassee Tiger SharksThe Tallahassee Tiger Sharks were a minor professional ice hockey team that played in the ECHL from 1994–2001. Under this period they served as a minor league affiliate to New York Islanders , Florida Panthers and Montreal Canadiens....
for the rights to forward Dan Lupo - 12/12/98 - Matadors waive forward Kevin Powell
- 01/16/99 - Matadors suspend defenseman Kelly Hultgren
- 02/05/99 - Matadors sign defenseman Eon MacFarlane; Matadors place center Jon Finstrom on waivers
- 02/11/99 - Matadors place center Andrew Long on 10-day injured reserve.
- 03/10/99 - Matadors sign Jed Fiebelkorn
- 03/14/99 - Matadors activate John Badduke from injured reserve
- 03/24/99 - Matadors sign forward Jason Carriere
- 03/29/99 - Matadors sign forward Matt Redmond
Notable Personnel
- Reijo RuotsalainenReijo RuotsalainenReijo Ruotsalainen is a Finnish retired ice hockey defenceman. He was twice named Finland's top defenceman, and won two Stanley Cups with the Edmonton Oilers, in 1987 and 1990.-Kärpät :...
- Former defenseman who was a two-time Stanley Cup winner with the Edmonton OilersEdmonton OilersThe Edmonton Oilers are a professional ice hockey team based in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. They are members of the Northwest Division in the Western Conference of the National Hockey League ....
prior to his arrival to the Matadors. Ruotsalainen was the Matadors' assistant coach. - Wes Swinson - Former Hartford WhalersHartford WhalersThe Hartford Whalers were a professional ice hockey team based for most of its existence in Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.A.. The club played in the World Hockey Association from 1972–79 and in the National Hockey League from 1979–97...
draft pick, Swinson was name the first captain in Matadors' history on October 16, 1998 - Brent BeleckiBrent BeleckiBrent Belecki is a former professional ice hockey goaltender who played in the Western Hockey League, East Coast Hockey League, Central Hockey League, United Hockey League, and American Hockey League....
- Starting goaltender of the Matadors. Belecki was named ECHL Rookie Of The Week once and Goaltender Of The Week on back to back weeks. Belecki had a 50 save victory in Miami's final home game. - Terry Lindgren - Only player in Matadors' history to be named to the ECHL All-Star game.
- Lance WardLance WardLance Ward is an inactive Canadian professional ice hockey defenceman. He holds the current Elitserien record for most penalty minutes during one season.-Playing career:...
- former first round draft pick of the Florida Panthers, Ward would play 6 games with the Matadors. Ward would later go on to play over 200 games with the Panthers and the Anaheim Mighty Ducks of the NHL.