Meet Your Adirondack Phantoms

Glens Falls, New York isn't exactly South Philadelphia.
The AHL Board of Governors approved the transfer of ownership of the Philadelphia Phantoms franchise from Philadelphia Phantoms, LP, to a newly formed entity known as Phantoms Hockey LLC, owned by the Brooks Group. Subsequently, the Brooks Group was granted approval to relocate its AHL franchise from Philadelphia to Glens Falls, N.Y., beginning with the 2009-10 season.
The team has not announced that it will officially be called the Adirondack Phantoms, but literature put out by the above-mentioned Phantoms Hockey LLC has used that name. Previous teams that called the Glens Falls Civic Center home have used the name Adirondack, including the AHL's Red Wings and the UHL's Frostbite.
Last week, the Brooks Group signed a three-year lease with the Glens Falls Civic Center, but it was contigent on reaching a goal of 2,500 season ticket deposits. According to the Post-Star of Glens Falls, they currently have 1,676 commitments. The owners must have been confident that the number will continue to rise, and now that the league has finalized the move, there are no further steps that have to be taken.
Meet your Adirondack Phantoms.
The Flyers will no doubt miss the convenience of having their AHL team under the same practice roof as them, and upstate New York is not exactly across the hall. But the team might not be there long. Many see the move to Glens Falls as a temporary solution, given that the Brooks Group has publicly stated they want to build an arena in Allentown, PA.
That would be a much better situation for the Flyers, but to the town of Glens Falls, it could be the final straw when it comes to hosting a professional hockey team. The Red Wings played there for twenty years before that franchise folded. They were replaced by the Frostbite of the UHL in 1999, who also left town in 2006 thanks to attendance problems that led to an inablilty to come to a lease agreement.
Many people in the area are looking at the Phantoms as a situation they need to take advantage of. Glenn Merkosky, a resident of the area and the holder of basically every Adirondack Red Wings offensive record, understands that the Phantoms are probably only going to be there for a short time before moving on. He says the city can make the most of it, though.
"If we average over 4,000 people a night, when they move out, somebody else is gonna move in," Merkosky said. "If we have 2,000 people a night, when they move out nobody else is ever coming back in."
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Leigh Valley/Allentown
I live about a half an hour away from there, and rest assured the Phantoms will be comfortable with us eventually!
by TaraFlyersss on Apr 28, 2009 5:40 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Glens Falls, New York
This picture does not represent the great city of Glens Falls… its not even a picture of Glens Falls its a picture of Finch Paper company on the Hudson River. For a view of the real city, i agree it isn’t South Philadelphia but it isn’t a dump like broadstreet hockey made it out to be. www.cmellp.com/images/glensfalls_roundabout.jpg thats more like it, and this is the new home of the Phantoms www.nysbasketball.net/nysphsaa/images/home.jpg
LET’S GO ADIRONDACK PHANTOMS!!!
by ADKPhantomPhan on Apr 28, 2009 6:32 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Don’t get so defensive. I didn’t once say it was a dump. The picture illustrates my point quite well… it’s not a major city. That’s all I was implying.
As for the picture, the New York Times figured it was good enough to go along side a story on Glens Falls. But, you’re picture does give serve the purpose much better, so I will switch it.
Broad Street Hockey - SB Nation's Philadelphia Flyers Blog. Makin' it look mean since 1967.
by Travis Hughes on Apr 28, 2009 6:58 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs
I’m about 25 minutes from the Bethlehem/Allentown area and hope the Phantoms can make it here. The Lehigh Valley Iron Pigs (Phillies minor league team) has been fairly popular in the area despite starting off with a deplorable season.
by beatniche on Apr 28, 2009 7:00 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs
Not So Fast
Gov giveth and Gov taketh away.
“The governor felt the state had made substantial investments in the Lehigh Valley,” Smith said, citing the state’s assistance in building Coca-Cola Park, the home of the Lehigh Valley IronPigs. Smith said the governor didn’t see investing in a sports arena for the region a possibility anytime soon.
by beatniche on May 1, 2009 9:17 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

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