The Fort Wayne Komets have announced that due to a scheduling conflict with the Allen County War Memorial Coliseum, two regular-season home games have been moved.
The games originally scheduled for Saturday, March 7, and Sunday, March 8, against the Wichita Thunder will now be played on Wednesday, Jan. 14, against the Indy Fuel at 7:30 Pm.
The Komets will also play the Bloomington Bison on Sunday, Feb. 8, with a special start time of 2 Pm. Additionally, the home game scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 31, against the Tahoe Knight Monsters will now start at 8 Pm.
These schedule changes were beyond the Komets’ control. Not surprisingly, they did not sit well with team ownership.
CEO and majority shareholder Stephen Franke issued a public apology to Komets fans for the inconvenience.
“After 36 years of Franke family ownership, we have never experienced such detrimental loss of approved dates,” Franke said in a statement. “In a break from our lease, the Coliseum unilaterally reassigned several of our previously confirmed dates well after our schedule was finalized and published to accommodate Disney on Ice. We have yet to be informed how this mistake occurred and I want to sincerely apologize to all Komet fans and sponsors.
“For 74 years, the Komets and the Coliseum have shared a strong partnership, and we remain hopeful that this relationship can return to the productive spirit that has defined it without further disruption to our operations. Our commitment is to deliver the best possible hockey experience for our fans. We look forward to another spectacular opening night in “The Jungle” in November.
The Komets will now play two additional games within the Central Division. These changes have not only affected the Komets, but several other teams as well. They also impacted the schedules for Wichita, Toledo, Indy, and Bloomington.
As for the Komets, the financial implications cannot be ignored.
“This is an unprecedented situation,” general manager David Franke stated. “The Komets do not receive any revenue from concessions and suites. Consequently, we must have key dates to drive ticket, merchandise, and group sales. Losing a Saturday night is a heavy hit to the Komets. With the help of the Coliseum and the Komet staff, we hope to come up with some promotions for these new dates.”
While schedule reshuffling around the ECHL is not unusual, this particular situation has created an unfortunate domino effect. How this will affect the partnership between the Komets and their venue moving forward is uncertain. Hopefully, such conflicts can be avoided in the future with better communication or compromise.