Hope for hockey?

The local fishrap is reporting that there may be hope for hockey in Greensboro this season after all.

Hockey league courts Greensboro

The question that comes up is...Will Greensboro and the surrounding area support it? You're looking at ticket prices that will be 2-3 times more expensive that what the Generals charge. Now granted, should the WHA come to pass...and that is still pretty iffy at this point...in an NHL lockout season, you may get some interest from Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem and all the rest of the surrounding areas. But what happens when the NHL returns to business?

The Triangle money will be gone, the NHL fans in Greensboro will be traveling to Raleigh again or back to the comfort of their own living rooms watching all the games on digital cable. And once again, Greensboro will be faced with a struggling hockey team.

I will support any team that comes to Greensboro. But I'm not so sure that this stop-gap measure is in the long-term best interest of the city.

If I had my druthers, I'd say let the coliseum sit this winter, come back with a strong local ownership group next season (and little birdies are telling me that there are strong local groups already in talks with the coliseum and ECHL) and build toward the future in the ECHL.

I'm skeptical of the WHA, but if it happens, you'll still probably see me at most of the games.