(The following was filed for a Business Week story in May 1990.)

Hockey in Florida?

By Bob Andelman

Sports have just a few basic rules. Baseball in spring, football in fall; water-skiing in warm weather, hockey in cold. But the National Hockey League has been breaking away from the notion its game can only be played in chilly cities like Buffalo or Montreal. The L.A. Kings and superstar Wayne Gretzky have proved the ice game can be sold surfside and now Florida interests want a shot at the net.

Two potential ownership groups fronted by prominent former NHL stars are mounting serious campaigns to bring hockey to Tampa Bay's new Florida Suncoast Dome in 1992. The Tampa Bay Hockey Group, led by former N.Y. Ranger player/coach/G.M./vice president Phil Esposito, and Detroit-based Compuware, its hockey division directed by ex-Detroit Red Winger Jim Rutherford, have put their names in the hat for one of the $50-million franchises expected later this year. Both hope to capitalize on the vast numbers of hockey-starved northern and midwestern transplants now living in Florida.

Esposito has a contract with the Kings to play an exhibition at the Dome on Sept. 19 if an ice rink can be arranged. His goal is to impress league officials by meeting or beating the previous NHL single game attendance record of 21,019 set in Detroit in 1983. The Dome can seat 30,586 for hockey.

"When we talk to NHL officials and owners they look at us like we're crazy," admits Rutherford, who first began researching the idea in early 1989. "But in the last six months, I've heard more and more of these people say maybe Florida's not such a bad idea." Or, as Tampa Bay Hockey Group attorney Henry Paul - son of former Yankees exec Gabe Paul - puts it, "Can you imagine going to the beach in the day and hockey at night?"

(The following was filed for a Business Week story in November 1990.)

Hockey in Florida, Redux?

By Bob Andelman

They all laughed when Jim Rutherford, director of hockey operations for Detroit-based Compuware came to Tampa a year ago and proclaimed the Bay area hot for hockey.

Baseball, maybe, but who wants to see hockey after a day at the beach?

Phil Esposito, former New York Rangers star and GM, also came to the region and echoed Rutherford's thoughts. He went further, forming the Tampa Bay Hockey Group to sponsor an NHL exhibition between the L.A. Kings and Pittsburgh Penguins in September at St. Petersburg's new Florida Suncoast Dome. An unofficial, all-time league attendance record of more than 25,000 was set that night. (Unofficial because the league doesn't recognize exhibitions.) That settled nagging doubts about the sport's appeal in Florida. (A few weeks later even more people turned out to see an NBA exhibition.)

About the time of the game, both Esposito and Rutherford were simultaneously negotiating contracts with the Dome for the right to place an NHL franchise there. Esposito refused to name his financial backers and the city of St. Petersburg, which operates the stadium, ended negotiations with him and committed to Rutherford.

Not long after, Esposito said he would take his puck across the bay to Tampa and build his own arena there with Spectacor (owner and manager of the Spectrum in Philadelphia). Esposito finally announced his backers: the Pritzker family, of Hyatt Hotel fame and part owners of Spectacor.

The excitement was short-lived. As Esposito was negotiating with the city of Tampa to put a hockey arena beside Tampa Stadium - with Spectacor putting up $60-million and the city guaranteeing another $30-million in bonds - the Pritzkers pulled out.

Scrambling, Esposito said he had Japanese and Chinese backers to step in and replace the hoteliers. But details have been extremely sketchy. Meanwhile, he's pressing forward, agitating the city and county to approve the arena by Dec. 5, when the league meets to consider expansion applications. This despite reservations by several officials - including the mayor - who think any new arena should be downtown to stimulate economic activity. And then there are those who simply think the better organized Rutherford effort is already a sure bet since the Pritzkers pulled out.

One more thing about Rutherford: his group has said that if the multi-purpose Dome does not work as a hockey arena or if it experiences too many scheduling conflicts with an anticipated Major League Baseball team, Compuware will build a new hockey arena in downtown St. Petersburg.

General notes: Milwaukee, thought to be the frontrunner for hockey expansion, withdrew its bid a month ago. ... San Diego said a few weeks ago that the $50-million league entry fee was too rich and it'll postpone its bid 'til next time. ... The league meets in early December to review applications and announce two new franchises.