By John Erardi
The Cincinnati Enquirer

The Cincinnati Cyclones say they aren't going anywhere, but clearly the owners of U.S. Bank Arena want them out. If the owners get their way, Cincinnati again could be a one hockey-team town.

Since the Cyclones parted ways with the Cincinnati Gardens for the 1997-98 season, and Gardens owner Jerry Robinson signed a deal to bring the Mighty Ducks minor-league hockey team to town, the biggest hockey question in town has been: which team will survive?

On Oct. 3, 1997, Robinson took a shot at answering that question: "Two years max," he predicted of the Cyclones' chances for survival. "We've got the right product - the best hockey to watch in the best building to watch it. We'll be the ones left standing."

When he was reached for comment Wednesday, Robinson's first line was: "Tell me what you know." His second: "Has it really been six years since I said that?"

But Robinson isn't doing a victory lap.

"What can I say?" he said Wednesday. "We have created in Cincinnati a brand name - the Mighty Ducks. ... Once upon a time, (the Cyclones) had the brand name. Times have changed."

The other key to this story might be: In a battle of buildings, bet on the guy that doesn't have a mortgage.

That would be the Gardens' Robinson, who agreed that it helps.

All this, however, has to be couched in the reality that the Cyclones don't want to leave Cincinnati. If they win their court action against the U.S. Bank Arena owners, they won't have to.

"We don't see it as turning (Cincinnati) into a one-hockey team town," said R. Guy Taft, an attorney who represents Cincinnati Sports, the limited partnership that owns the Cyclones.

"I can tell you we are there for the long term. This (lease) was signed just two years ago. The initial term (of the agreement) is five years. The Cyclones could then (renew the contract) for two additional five-year periods."

But it's not a good thing for the tenant when a building owner tells it to get out. That basically is what the U.S. Bank Arena owners have told the Cyclones by terminating the team's lease, telling them they failed to promote hockey and special events per their contract.

The attorney for the building owners didn't return a call from the Enquirer Wednesday, so it isn't known how amenable they might be to resolving this dispute and keeping the team here.

But the facts as known "don't bode well," for the Cyclones to win the ice war, said Don Schumacher, a Cincinnati sports marketing consultant.

On Tuesday, the Cyclones sued the U.S. Bank Arena owners, Arena Management Holdings, asked for an injunction and claimed the lease termination violates their contract.

So if the Mighty Ducks aren't the clear winner in Cincinnati yet, they are by far the stronger-looking fighter.

"As the guy who ran the (coliseum) for 21/2 years in the mid-1980s, I can tell you this: if a team isn't doing well, it's a drain on the arena's finances," Schumacher said. "If that's the case, it's better to (have the building) dark and available for concerts and other shows, rather than have a (smaller) crowd for a hockey game."

Schumacher has no inside information about the dispute at the arena, and hasn't talked to representatives of either party, he said.

The Cyclones came to Cincinnati in 1990 as a member of the East Coast Hockey League. They moved to what is now U.S. Bank Arena for the 1997-98 season. They were a huge hit at the Gardens, but have been less so downtown.

"At the Gardens, they had the right building with the right level of hockey to be an incredible amount of fun," Schumacher said.

The Cyclones regularly drew crowds of 10,000 - a lot of families, and a lot of 20-somethings.

In recent years, the Cyclones' attendance has suffered as the team has had to battle massive construction along the riverfront.

"That was a mill stone around their neck," Schumacher said.

They also, perhaps, had to deal with the perception that the downtown arena isn't the place to go on a regular basis to watch Cincinnati sports teams play.

There were some mediocre University of Cincinnati basketball teams that played there in the 1980s, and there also were some minor-league hockey teams who that did nothing to make longtime fans forget the Cincinnati Mohawks.

But it's been a good building concerts, as well as such sports events as NCAA Tournament games, University of Kentucky basketball games and figure-skating competitions and shows.

E-mail jerardi@enquirer.com