Deathof the Riverdogs, Rebirth of the Renegades
Then
Although it's been clear for some time that the Richmond RiverDogs would not be around for another year, the plug officially was pulled yesterday.
The city and Richmond Coliseum, in a joint statement, announced their contract with the RiverDogs would not be renewed for the 2006-07 season.
Terms of their lease required notification about the future by the last scheduled home game (April 8) and that was extended until last weekend when the regular season came to an end. But Eric Margenau and Jay Acton, who owned the United Hockey League franchise, never bothered to inform the city or Coliseum of their intentions.
"So we called [UHL Commissioner Richard Brosal] and told him we had to move on," said Coliseum manager Dolly Vogt. "He said, 'Do what you have to do.'"
The RiverDogs lasted three seasons, winning their division the first year then failing to qualify for the playoffs the next two. They replaced the ECHL Richmond Renegades who folded following the 2002-03 campaign.
Now
RENEGADES RETURN TO RICHMOND IN SPHL
BROPHY TO COACH; GOUDIE TO BE PLAYER/ASSISTANT COACH
During a morning press conference held today at the Richmond Coliseum, Allan B. Harvie, Jr.,
President/GM of Richmond Renegades, LLC announced that his company has been successful in
obtaining an affiliation with the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL) and that his new team,
the Richmond Renegades, would begin play in the SPHL for the 2006-2007 season.
The Richmond Coliseum will be home to the SPHL expansion Renegades. An “agreement in
principal” has been reached with the Coliseum, stated Harvie. “We actually only took 30 minutes to
reach a lease agreement and are awaiting the final copy from SMG corporate”, he continued. “In the
short period of time I have been dealing with the Coliseum, Dolly Vogt and her staff have been nothing
short of fantastic. They are extremely accommodating and our negotiations have been pleasant; a far cry
from when I came here in 1990. I am truly looking forward to working with Dolly and her staff. She
has already put forth several really good ideas and concepts for the season.”
Mr. Harvie also named his long time Canadian friend, and at times, hockey adversary, John
Brophy, as coach of the Renegades. Brophy coached the Hampton Roads Admirals during the years
when the Admirals and Renegades were in the ECHL and fought one of the fiercest rivalries in the
history of minor league hockey. Brophy has won more games as a coach in professional hockey than
any other coach except Scotty Bowman. He is the only coach to have ever won more than 1,000 games
as a coach and play in more than 1,300 as a player; where he amassed 4,444 penalty minutes. Brophy
currently resides in Harrisonburg, Virginia with his wife Nancy, a LPGA professional, where they
operate a successful golf facility.
Mr. Lou Corletto, a long time fixture in the Washington Capitals public relations department,
was named as Special Assistant to the President. “Lou has so much hockey knowledge and experience
that I jumped at the opportunity to have him on board. We will use his skills and contacts extensively,”
Harvie explained.
Harvie also announced that former Riverdogs defenseman, Brian Goudie, had agreed to terms
and will become player/assistant coach with the Renegades. “Coach Brophy absolutely wanted Brian on
our team”, stated Harvie. “He coached Brian as a player in Norfolk and has long admired his skills,
determination and real commitment to his teammates and fans. Brian expressed a desire to become a
coach and there’s no better coach in the world to learn from than Brophy”.
The Renegades first employee is Tracy Hynes who was an employee with the original Renegades
in 1990. Tracy takes on the duties of Director of Community and Public Relations/Group Sales. In her
capacity Tracy will be the liaison between the community and the team, particularly with player
appearances. She will handle group ticket sales and, during, the season will be the specific contact for
season ticket holders and sponsors. “Tracy has really gained tremendous experience since we last
worked together. She has amassed considerable marketing skills though her work at AMF, Family Golf
and, most recently, the Children’s Museum. We are extremely fortunate that Tracy was willing to jump
on board”, stated Harvie. Tracy lives with her husband, Doug, and their three children, in Glen Allen.
The Renegades logo and jerseys were unveiled. The logo features a mean looking black bearded
pirate with a three-point hat featuring the original R logo from the 1990 Renegades. The pirate has a
patch over his left eye “in deference to John and I as neither of us can see from our left eye”, said Harvie
and a gold upper tooth. The word RENEGADES scrolls along the bottom of the logo. The team colors
are gold and royal blue. In a first for a Richmond team, the custom home jersey is not white but gold
with royal blue trim while the away custom jersey is royal blue with gold trim. The shoulder patch
features the original R logo.
Harvie noted that he took a different approach to ownership when forming his company,
Richmond Renegades, LLC. “I had several friends, who were also fans, approach me and ask if they
could become a part of the team, so we formed an ownership group. They also wanted to make sure that
hockey remained in Richmond and pledged not only their financial support but their skills and
knowledge as well. Aside from Harvie, the ownership group is currently made up of five couples, two of
who are long time supporters of Richmond hockey; Tim and Deb Riley of Fredericksburg and Scott and
Chris VanLue, also of Fredericksburg. The other members are John and Miyuki Edwards of
Chesapeake, Mark and Trish Newell of Chesapeake and Dan and Kristy Putnam of Salt Lake City. Each
of these owners holds a 4.95% interest in the team with Harvie owning the balance. “There may be
others joining us in the near future”, stated Harvie “but I will always maintain a majority interest never
dropping below 50.5%”.
The Renegades website will become activated today with a temporary splash page. The web
address is www.rrenegades.com . The Renegades phone number will be published later in the week.
Information for season tickets, group sales, sponsors and advertisers will be available at the site. Harvie
stated that he expected to be in his Coliseum offices “by weeks’ end” and fully operational by the
middle of next week.
Current Mood: 
excited 
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