The Cincinnati Enquirer

Cyclones fans responding to an Enquirer reader question would rather see the International Hockey League team stay at its current home than move to Riverfront Coliseum next year.

Fans voted 222-159 in favor of the Cyclones remaining at Cincinnati Gardens.

The margin was smaller among the 104 email respondents: 46 favored the Gardens; 41 picked the Coliseum; 17 cited no preference.

Team owner Doug Kirchhofer is considering moving the team to the larger Riverfront Coliseum. The seating capacity at the 50-year-old Gardens is 10,299. At the 21-year-old Coliseum, it is 15,794.

Reasons cited for staying at the Gardens included better atmosphere, tradition, the Coliseum's poor record of hosting hockey, and fear that Coliseum ticket prices would be higher.

Reasons cited for moving to the Coliseum included a bigger, newer arena, better location, and the opportunity to attract an NHL team.

Several fans expressed the hope that owners of both buildings would make significant improvements.

Below are the comments from email respondents who identified themselves:

Stephen Ross: The Gardens is a louder place for fans to get into the spirit of the Cyclones. It is also more concentrated in one place than scattered about.

Stephen Steiber: I think the Cyclones should be downtown with the rest of Cincinnati's sports teams.

Mark Hahn: Yea, I know the Gardens is old and I know of one person that thought she could go there to buy flowers. It's not pretty or comfortable. The sound system is lousy. The parking lots aren't paved or flat. The seats don't have padding. But, besides all that it is the best place in Cincinnati to watch a hockey game. Cyclones, stay where you are. Don't leave the Gardens.

Brandon Cole: I think that the Gardens is a run down place, and the Coliseum would be a much nicer place to house a National Award Winning Hockey team!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Wesley Grate: As a kid I used to watch the Stingers at the Coliseum and recently I've seen the Ice play at Market Square Arena and saw the Lumberjacks play at Gund Arena last night. All three are really beautiful facilities, but none of them have the cozy, gritty character of The Gardens. It has a distinct scent and atmosphere from the moment you walk in the door. Every fan knows how unique that atmosphere is, something not to be found in any other venue, and we get a lot of enjoyment out having not only a close, cozy place to raise hell, but also an atomospere to call our own.

Most important, though, to a fan like myself is that all these other facilities do a wonderful job of hushing and softening sounds due to the plush seats and high ceilings, and so really make a person feel farther away from the game than they really are. In the Gardens, the slaps and bangs and shouts and clatter from the ice really allow the fans to be closer, acoustically speaking, to the game and makes the action much more vivid -- not to mention the roudiness of the croud can effectively reach a roaring pitch without the need of 15,000 fans. In these other arenas, it was difficult hearing fans clapping only a few sections away. One other note: At Gund Arena in Cleveland, a very new, stylish place, you get a video board for live action and a monstrous sound system and many other ammenities, but the lowest ticket price is $10 for seats way up in the rafters (and ONLY at the either end of the ice) and the seats between the goal lines are $20. I don't need the ammenities at Gund or the Colleseum. I'll pay for the talent on the ice and Snowbird in the stands. I don't need the replays for an extra $5 a game.

By the way, parking outside the Gund began at $8. Go figure Cleveland.

Ronald L. Tekulve Jr.: I think they should stay at the Gardens. That's where they have started and the Gardens has a homely feel to it as the Coliseum seems like Riverfront Stadium -- a very drab place.

Gerald Barnes: If they do move, I will not go down to the Coliseum and watch them. On the same hand, the Gardens does need some improvements to the restrooms, and concessions stands.

Arun Murthy: If Cincinnati hopes to ever lure an NBA or NHL team, we must upgrade our largest arena to make it more marketable. Without a real tenant for the Coliseum, there will not be enough money to overhaul that facility.

Dale Rook: The Gardens may be smaller, but it has more character.

Doug Roden: The Gardens! has that rowdy redneck atmosphere that "makes" the CYCLONES games.

Steve Douglas: What does it take to prove to people in this town that only the Reds and Bengals survive downtown?

Steve Heller: If (big IF) the Coliseum were refurbished (new concessions, more bathrooms, paint the ugly seats) I wouldn't mind them moving down there. However, if Jerry Robinson brings in an AHL team to the Gardens I know that the loser will be the hockey fans of Cincinnati. There is no way this city can support two minor league hockey teams.

Jim Evers: I want the Cyclones to *STAY* in the Gardens. If the Cyclones and Jerry Robinson can cooperate, then the needed improvements can hopefully be done. (Air Conditioning; Better Looker-Rooms; Fixing up the Restrooms; etc...etc...) That's all the Gardens need is a little fixing up, and it will be as good as new! If the Cyclones do end up moving to the Coliseum, we (Section 60) will follow them.

Jane Huelsman: The Gardens is a perfect place for hockey. It just needs to be fixed up, modernized and get some decent food and restrooms etc. At the present time it's not too user friendly. It was nice when the beer garden was open. Other facilities around the league are much nicer. I can see the benefits of the Coliseum but downtown is too difficult for parking , meeting the players, etc. Of course I'll follow the 'Clones wherever but I wish it would be at the Gardens. Also, I will really miss seeing Paul Lawless on the ice. What a great Cyclone!

Nathan Allen: The Cyclones have had such good attendence at games because the Cincinnati Gardens in in relatively close proximity to their major fan base...which is located in Norwood, St. Bernard, College Hill, etc. Moving to the Coliseum would be a huge mistake.

Bob Keown: I haven't seen the inside of the Coliseum yet and the Gardens has a lot of character (not unlike the old Boston Garden. However, I think the Coliseum is more centrally located for Kentucky and Ohio fans. It would also have better parking and better outdoor lighting. I also think that the Coliseum better represents the city as a first class hockey town than does the Gardens. The Gardens seems old, like a double AA ballpark.

Leonard W. Bevens: The Cyclones should definitely stay at the Gardens. They are experiencing many capacity crowds game after game, and although more seats could be sold per game if they were to move to Riverfront Coliseum, the tickets would not be in such demand. Plus, why would the Clones give up the atmosphere of the Gardens which has become a part of their image. games? Other major sports cities have multiple sports venues; There is no reason to attempt a consolidation of all of the Queen City's teams on the riverfront. Perhaps the Gardens should accept that they have become the home of the Cyclones and work closely with them to make our Gardens into a similar venue to the Gardens of New York and Boston. As for the Reds and Bengals: They should never leave the riverfront!

Dan Hackney: The Gardens is an ideal place to watch a hockey game. The Coliseum is a run down piece of trash. Just look at all of the problems that have occured with NHL exhibition games played there the past few years. I believe the Cyclones would be making a mistake in moving downtown. Sure the Gardens is old, but still it is an infinitely better place to watch a game than the Coliseum is or ever could be. Cincinnati Gardens forever! 1970's rainbow colored seats never!

John S Boone: I've been a season ticket holder since 1990 and I will support them where ever they play. However, I think they should either stay at the Gardens or build their own building. The Coliseum has killed several teams and I think it will ultimately do the same to the Clones.

Michael Campbell: The parking at the Gardens can get unsafe real quick while at a game in January.

Lee Clark: I will not support any team that plays at the Coliseum, aka "The Big White Elephant". As a season ticket holder of the Cyclones, I will not purchase any tickets from the Cyclones if they move to the Coliseum.

Andy Nemann: The Cyclones need to do what is best for them as long as it means they stay in Cincinnati. Both the Gardens and Coliseum need a lot of work. Maybe with the Cyclones looking to move we will see some action in helping to update one or both of the facilities.

Gerald Lane: (The Coliseum) as long as ticket prices remain stable. We have been season ticket holders since the Cyclones opening season and in that time Jerry Robinson has done very little to upgrade facilities.

Mark Bauer: I think having any sport on the riverfront adds more fun and excitement to going in the first place. There is more to do and see, more restaurants, more bars and it would be a good way to test how successful the Clones could be from an attendance standpoint.

Jeff Schare: The Gardens is too small. The Cyclones need a bigger place.

Kevin Kearns: Why leave a good thing, hockey has failed at least twice downtown Stay at the Gardens rents cheaper and not a bad seat in the house.

Bernie Cox: I love how the Gardens have made the games a fun event and would like that atmosphere to be incorporated in the new areana: but the team would benefit from a greater capacity crowd and increase coverage by the media if it moved to the Coliseum.

Jerry Fletcher, Section 60: I want the Cyclones to leave the Gardens ... What the city should do like in Cleveland is build a rink onto one of the stadiums that they are building.

Sean S. Suder: It has come to my attention that the Cyclones are considering moving to the Coliseum. It makes the most sense for that to occur. By relocating downtown it could bring people into the central city. This could ultimately fill a void in downtown during after the Bengals and before the Reds season. As an urban planning student I see a need to utilize the facility and create another potential market for downtown. The Coliseum is underutilized and the Gardens are extremely out of date. I venture to say that when Xavier builds a new arena the Gardens will be history.

Rosemarie Staun: Because I attend West Point now I no longer can attend these games. When I did attend the Cyclones at The Gardens the players and the team seemed so much closer to the crowd. It was a good feeling!!!

P. Duffy: The Gardens...the Coliseum..those are my choices? Both arenas are tired and dirty. The Cyclones should seek a deal that guarantees physical improvements to either venue. The Clones are worthy of an arena matching their high caliber of sport and fan participation.

Steven Speed: I believe the Cyclones should move to the Riverfront Coliseum. Because, it'll be more closer to my neighborhood and it'll be quicker for me to get back and fouth to the games. I never been to a Cyclones game even though i'm a huge fan of the team. So, i agree to the move.

Mike Poweleit: I think the "Gardens" are a perfect place for the Clones. When the crowd is big in the cozy surroundings the noise level is Wonderful! The Coliseum would be too spacy, cold and out of touch with the game and the team.

Richard S. Gottmann: Coliseum. Ticket prices must stay low to attract a crowd.

Rusty Williams: The Coliseum needs something. I never see anything going on there, it seems like a waste. This will give them something, at least in the winter months.

Published Nov. 26, 1996.