BOISE, Idaho — The Idaho Steelheads will not play a single hockey game during the 2020-2021 season, the organization announced Monday.
All games in the ECHL season have been suspended, "in light of COVID-19’s continued impact across Idaho and the United States," the team said.
The Steelheads will return to the ice in October 2021 for the 2021-2022 season.
“This was a difficult decision to come to as we wanted to be able to play this season but because of the continued increase of Covid-19 in the Treasure Valley and United States, we felt our best option was to start preparing for a season in the Fall of 2021,” said Steelheads President Eric Trapp in a press release. “The future of the Idaho Steelheads is bright, especially with the new improvements to Idaho Central Arena. We will be back and fighting for another ECHL Kelly Cup very soon!”
All Idaho Steelheads players immediately become free agents for the 2020-21 season. The team has not yet announced details about refunds for those who have already purchased tickets for this season's games.
“We will be communicating directly with our valued season ticket holders and corporate partners in the coming days, and want to thank all of our wonderful fans for their support during what has been a difficult year,” said Trapp. “We can’t wait to welcome everyone back to Idaho Central Arena when we drop the puck next October.”
The cancellation comes amid a major spike of coronavirus infections across the state. As of Sunday, more than 93,000 people have received confirmed positive tests; more than 1,000 Idahoans have died.
On Monday, KTVB sports reporter Will Hall spoke with both Trapp and Steelheads Coach Everett Sheen to get their thoughts on the canceled season. Read the transcript of those interviews below:
Sheen: “Not overly surprised, to be honest, you could kind of see it coming. So once it’s official, it kind of stings, but just looking at everything, and being realistic, you kind of knew that was where we were headed.”
Hall: Do you feel like even with limited or no fans at all, you could have operated this season?
Sheen: “I don’t think so. We’re a revenue-driven league, without any fans attending, especially our amazing fans, we pack the building every night. If we can’t have that, it just gets tough to cover all the costs and travel and salaries, so it wasn’t feasible and I understand that.”
Hall: What were some of the key factors in today’s decision?
Trapp: “We tried to take as much time as we could, but I think a lot of people may not understand all of the logistics that go into putting a season on. You know, unfortunately with our league, there’s 26 teams with 26 different jurisdictions, I mean you see it in the state of Idaho, Canyon county is run differently than Ada county. Obviously what we’re dealing with is just with where we are at with cases in Ada County and the state, right now, there’s no gatherings of more than ten people. So, in our business operation, we have to have fans in the stands. We can’t rely on 300, 100, whatever, it just doesn’t work, unfortunately. So there’s that aspect, and not knowing if we were going to be able to open up by a certain time and that’s why waited and waited and waited until we just had to make a decision. There were just too many things that go into it, but the biggest thing is right now, where we are at, we can’t have fans and I’d be guessing to say that we could in a month or two, I don’t know, doesn’t look like it.”
Hall: Could you have operated this season with limited or no fans in the stands?
Trapp: “No. We’re not like a pro team or some of these major colleges where they have TV contracts that they do in addition. We pay the players, they’re paid, and we have to get them apartments, so there’s a large expense there. It was not being financially responsible to go forward. Right now, you can only have ten, it just doesn’t work in the minor league model.”
Hall: How confident are you that things will be back and running like normal in October 2021?
Trapp: “The fan support, the Steelheads, I’m not worried. Our ownership group is fantastic, they’ve been so supportive of keeping many of us on staff and what they did with people they had to furlough. We have a very strong fan base, as you’ve seen, I don’t have any question when we come back in October (2021), that we’re going to be just fine. It’s disappointing, we wanted to play, the players wanted to play, the coaches did, our front office staff, all the people that work for us full-time and part-time, we all wanted to play, but it’s just something that we couldn’t make happen, and it’s nobody’s fault, it’s just where we are at with the number of cases, but I have no question, our fans are fantastic, the support we get in the town is fantastic, I think many of the players can’t wait to come back to Idaho.”
Hall: What happens to the current roster of players that now become free agents for the 2020-2021 season?
Trapp: “We have a collective bargaining agreement. There’s a union for players in our league, so that will all be something that the union and the league will work out. I still feel comfortable that Idaho is one of the premiere teams in our league, and I just think in hockey, in general, it’s a great city with great fans and so we’re lucky and blessed with that fan support and just how great our city is, so there will be plenty of players that want to come and play here.”
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