949 Roller Hockey Center turning to ICE?

[zipyaj]

The center of Roller Hockey in Orange County, CA opened in March, 1997 as the Wayne Gretzky Roller Hockey Center. In January 2007, the facility changed names and management from then California Roller Hockey Center to today's The 949 Roller Hockey Center. Today, local businessman Jack Mau's attempts to bring an ice hockey rink in its stead could land the City of Irvine in hot water and limit The 949 Roller Hockey Center to operate through at least December 2010.

Read the article and enter your comments

Businessman claims Irvine derailed roller rink deal
Claim alleges that city purchased control of roller hockey rink at the last minute.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
By SEAN EMERY
THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
source: http://www.ocregister.com/articles/city-mau-lease-2535434-deal-hockey

[skooled]

It sounds dodgy on both sides if you ask me...

[Doug Jones]

I am in SC and I knew the scoop on this before it even hit....

The bottom line is the city is going to take the property over so that a certain NHL team and it's rinks can take over and run the facility with a "new lease" through the city in the stream of it's brother facilities, Corona, Westminster and Huntington Beach....

Mr. Mau simply was a pawn used so the city could match his deal of 1.5 million cut to 650,000, all the while knowing they would match the offer and take it from Mau as specified in the lease agreement for the property on Barranca Parkway.

As I have read the lease myself, the city has the right to match and or refuse any offer or deal. What they did was calculated, manipulative and very wrong from a business standpoint to Mau, but to the community who plays there and calls it home, kept the facility as it is, a roller facility. The only question will be how the rinks, which will be leased to the certain NHL rinks partners, will be affiliated. My guess is AAU....I am also assuming since 949 management gets along with the managers of the other certain NHL rinks, he probably will keep his tenure..

But, with these rinks becoming a part of this group, roller would be there to stay, the positive of all this and the way Irvine should be!

[kevinsmithAZ]

Hmm.. will So. Cal teams stop playing NARCh now in favor of AAU/WIHA? Irvine has always been the biggest qualifier on the West Coast each year. I guess Escondido is the only 2 rink facility I can think of that ISN'T associated with AAU, but that's not near where most of these teams are from.

AZ teams also usually qualify at Irvine; this should lead to some interesting future events.

[zipyaj]

Hmm.. will So. Cal teams stop playing NARCh now in favor of AAU/WIHA?

Hi Kevin, It's not likely that this scenario will happen. The 949 will be entering it's 2nd year as an AAU facility this month, and teams from this area have and will very likely continue to participate in competitive inline hockey events just as they have in the past.

C'mon over anytime!

Best!

[zipyaj]

I am in SC and I knew the scoop on this before it even hit....


Not wanting to appear argumentative, but could it also fair to say that you knew most before you arrived in SC?

As a matter of public record, HBP Realty, LLC acquired the leasehold in Nov. 1997 and later negotiated a new sublease with The 949 in December 2006.

Arguably, the City Council's vote on May 12, 2009 to authorize a loan for $650,000 as payment to HBP Realty, LLC for assigning its roller hockey leasehold interests to the City of Irvine was merely a prudent business decision to assume the leasehold interest under the same terms as those offered to a prospective assignee. With this action, the City will now be scheduled to receive $252,032 for calendar year 2009 and $264,633 for calendar year 2010; plus the annual Ground Lease ($73,800) paid by the subtenant. According to the Advisory Committee, assuming cash inflow from Subtenant continues beyond Calendar Year 2010 at the current rate, it will be possible to pay back the Asset Management Fund in less than 3 years. What common sense investor woundn't take a 3 year ROI?

As for any conjecture or innuendo regarding the future, I'll defer to the savants and hockey soothsayers to prognosticate.

Personally, I'm glad to keep our leagues & programs alive & well in OC and hope that this community continues to play roller hockey at this location for generations to come.

Best!

[Doug Jones]

Jay:

You're not argumentative, for stating facts, but..

HBP, under the guise of David Lesser, the owner who financially did NOTHING to keep Irvine operating and sucked the life out of it, lost the lease in December of 2006, ceasing operations at the site, while 949 roller hockey was able to strike a new deal with the "city" to take over operations.

HBP was out close to 25 million dollars on their initial investment and forced the WWRH management out of Irvine and it's satellite facilities after recouping virtually nothing on their deal. WWRH, is the same management company that "tried" to shut the doors on Irvine and it's participants after defaulting to HBP for numerous months, but continued to pay itself (WWRH). After HBP forced a takeover in the contract, WWRH had the doors schedule to shut at 5:00pm Friday evening on a date in May.

In working with HBP, we were able to keep operations viable and open, but without the cooperation of WWRH...the same WWRH who jumped ship and now runs Hockey Giant, a lucrative operation they saw yielded more "cash flow" for them versus the roller facility.

I could write a book on the things I have witnessed.

In reading your post, unless David Lesser of HBP lied to myself and falsified emails and documents, HBP lost their ability to manage/lease the facility, allowing 949 management, Eddie Limbaga, to take over as the new tenant. HBP was also in default with payments to the city and other issues as well as lack of a "pro shop" tenant if you remember, "Hockey Giant" exited in the middle of the night with "Operation Anaheim" and took off for it's Anaheim superstore under the guise of WWRH management who now had committed their finances to it's future, rather than the roller rink.

My only goal was to try to keep the rink open to it's tenants, while trying to juggle the financial problems and lack of capital funds to keep it going. If you remember, we also had a conversation one day in December where I told you Eddie Limbaga "saved" the center from closing as HBP was going to not renew it's option to manage/keep open the center in December 2006. I found out, the center was being taken over December 14th, 2006 in an email from HBP and I was out of job...

So, in all my dealings with the city, I will simply smile and say this, they knew they had last right of refusal, they've been contacted by a certain NHL team to take over the facility and Mr. Mau happened to come forward at the right time for them to be able to make this work financially for them.

The sad thing about all of this is, WWRH and HBP both were ready to close the doors on the participants and programs without even thinking and or looking at the effect it would have on the community. Eddie, has done a great job in reinventing the center and establishing it's youth programs.

Ice rink? I think not....