NHL's impending return to action has Flyers fans excited

There was elation in Flyers Nation on Sunday as fans awoke to news of the tentative agreement between the National Hockey League and the players' union to end a months-long lockout.

"I'm so excited," John Simonton of Exton said as he ate lunch at the Xfinity Live Philadelphia complex across the street from the Wells Fargo Center, the team's home arena. "I've been in withdrawal."

Simonton had just finished getting a fix of professional ice skating at the Fargo Center. But seeing Disney on Ice with his two young children and extended family was not on a par with watching stick-wielding players crashing the net.

For Xfinity Live - the restaurant/bar/entertainment extravaganza partly owned by the Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor - the end of the 113-day, owner-imposed NHL lockout had to feel good. Announcement of the 10-year deal was also quite a birthday present for Comcast-Spectacor chairman Edward M. "Ed" Snider, who turned 80 on Sunday.

"We're extremely excited," said Rob Johnson, vice president of marketing for Xfinity Live. "As soon as we get word [of a schedule], we have some events that we're planning for season ticket holders, casual fans, and the public."

Johnson said he could not say whether the lockout cut into business, stressing only that "we've built the complex to be a place that has something for everybody," from live music to trivia contests.

But there is no doubt that the complex, which opened in March, capitalized on the end of the last hockey season. Johnson had said about 2,500 patrons, spending an average of $25, packed the place before, during, or after Flyers home games. The 32-foot TV - billed as the world's biggest high-definition screen - was a big draw.

On Sunday at lunchtime, Jim Campanile and his friend Emi Stretton - self-described avid Flyers fans from Ridley Park - sat beneath the TV, two of perhaps 100 patrons in the complex.

Campanile said he had read online about the tentative deal, which could result in a 48- or 50-game season that would start no later than Jan. 18. (A regular season consists of 82 games per team.)

"I can't wait," he said. "I want it to start sooner."

Stretton's favorite Flyer, center Claude Giroux, sounded equally eager in his tweeted reaction: "It's a beautiful day for Hockey. #GameOn #missthegame."

Flyers Nation, the team's 9,300-member online fan page, was atwitter with relief and cheers, such as "Pass Shoot Score!"

But there was also some grumbling.

Andy Dick of Hainesport, who said he pays about $4,200 a season for his pair of seats, noted that the lockout came just eight years after a labor dispute that killed a whole season.

"To me, if you're going to cancel an entire season, you'd think that [eight] years later, the problems should not be so severe that you have to do it again," he said. "I'm happy they're back. But I wasn't happy with the lockout and wasn't convinced it was necessary."

Longtime fan Ray Saggese of Northeast Philadelphia went farther, saying he was so fed up with the avarice of those controlling the sport that he would attend no more games.

"I'm pretty mad," he said. "I got a 3 percent raise this year, and my wife got a lot less than that. A player makes $6 million for a season that runs September through April. I'll never make $6 million in my life."

Though Anita Boffa Plumley of Barrington can only dream of affording season tickets for her family of five, she is thrilled the season has been salvaged. She announced the settlement at 7 a.m. to fellow members waiting for the doors to open at the Royal Fitness gym.

"I got goose bumps when I read the news online - so excited," she said later. "Our household has been revived. It's a great start to the New Year."