Glens Falls' Phantoms fans bracing for heartache

GLENS FALLS, N.Y. - It's all about timing.

If Allentown's new arena had been ready, there's a good chance Flyers fans would be streaming there during the NHL lockout, trying to get their hockey fix by watching the AHL Phantoms.

"There's a huge difference between traveling to Allentown" or to Glens Falls, N.Y., from the Philadelphia area, Rob Brooks, one of the Phantoms owners, said in an interview recently.

Brooks wasn't complaining. He loves Glens Falls, which is where the Adirondack Phantoms are playing for a fourth season. The fans continue to support the Phantoms even though the team is a lame duck.

The fans are in the middle of an odd situation.

On one hand, the Phantoms, thanks to the NHL work stoppage, are a better attraction because their roster has nine players who spent time with the Flyers last season.

On the other hand, one would think it's difficult to show much allegiance when your team is headed to Allentown - which had a ceremonial groundbreaking ceremony on Thursday - in less than two years and will have its name changed to the Lehigh Valley Phantoms.

Yet the folks in this quaint Upstate New York town near the majestic Adirondacks are still "all in."

They are just happy to have pro hockey in their community and hope to draw another team when the Phantoms leave.

Tim Denware, a Fort Edward, N.Y., resident who wore an Ilya Bryzgalov jersey to a game against Albany at the Glens Falls Civic Center, said it's "more about local hockey that gets me in here. Hopefully, we can get a big enough fan base that shows another franchise that we're a viable place."

In 2009, Brooks and his brother, Jim, purchased the Phantoms with the idea of having a rink built in Allentown. It was originally supposed to open next season, but delays have pushed the $272 million project back, and the Phantoms will move there for the 2014-15 campaign. The arena, a 1-hour, 10-minute drive from Philadelphia, will seat 8,700 fans for hockey and 10,000 for concerts.

Rob Brooks said the project will cover 100-plus acres and will include the arena, a 180-room hotel, a huge office building and restaurants and retail shops that will "change the face of downtown."

When Peter Luukko, president of the Flyers' parent company, Comcast-Spectacor, asked Jim Brooks whether he was interested in buying the Phantoms, his response was decisive.

"My brother said yes before he even asked the price," Rob Brooks said.

The Brooks brothers, who reportedly paid more than $3 million for the team, had a choice: They could "go dark" until the new arena was built, or they could relocate for a few years.

"We had calls from almost every city that had an arena but no team," Rob Brooks said. "We even got a call from St. John's, Newfoundland. I had to look at a map because I didn't know where it was."

But Brooks, whose family owns a piece of the Texas Rangers and single-A teams in the Rangers and Pittsburgh Pirates systems, was impressed by the pitch made by Glens Falls' mayor.

"They used to have the Red Wings for about 20 years before they left, and they wanted to show the rest of the world they could support an AHL team" - and attract another one when the Phantoms head to Allentown, Brooks said. "So we didn't feel empty-handed about leaving one day. We let everyone know from Day 1 that the Phantoms were here to build a model and help lure another team."

If Glens Falls happens to draw interest from another franchise for next season - so far, that hasn't happened - it's not out of the question that the Phantoms could relocate, with Atlantic City one of the possibilities.

But Brooks said the goal is to honor the lease and stay in Glens Falls until the end of next season and help the city attract another team. The best-case scenario, he said, would be for the Allentown-based Phantoms to face a team from Glens Falls down the road.

"That's our end goal," he said.

Kathryn Dingman, who is a Phantoms season-ticket holder along with her husband, said it's not difficult to get attached to the team even though it will be leaving after next season.

"I just enjoy having hockey, and it boosts the economy and brings people out on a Friday and Saturday night. It brings people into downtown," said Dingman, a Glens Falls resident who is a special-education teacher.

"We knew coming in that they were going to be leaving, and it'll be sad to see them go. But hopefully, we can get another one and keep it going," said Ryan Steininger, a graduate student who recently served in the Navy.

Even with the addition of numerous Flyers, the Phantoms are drawing almost the same number of fans as last year. They entered Friday averaging 3,573 spectators per home game, 51 more per contest than last season, excluding the 45,653 crowd for their "home" game at Citizens Bank Park.

Adirondack has about 1,700 season-ticket holders, the same number Allentown has already enticed.