Manchester Phoenix

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Manchester Phoenix

League	Elite Ice Hockey League
Founded	2003
History	Manchester Phoenix 2003-04; 2006-Present
Arena	Altrincham Ice Dome
Capacity	2,500
City	Manchester, United Kingdom
Team Colours	White, Black & Red
Head Coach/Director of Hockey Ops	Tony Hand, MBE
Owner	Neil Morris
General Manager	Andy Costigan
Team Captain	Scott Basiuk

The Manchester Phoenix is a professional ice hockey team from Manchester, England. The club was formed in 2003 as a result of the efforts of supporters group Friends of Manchester Ice Hockey to bring top-level ice hockey back to Manchester after Manchester Storm folded in 2002.

Phoenix were founder members of the Elite Ice Hockey League upon its formation in 2003, playing in the 17,500 capacity MEN Arena. The cost of using such a large facility proved financially untenable, and Phoenix suspended playing operations in 2004 pending the construction of a smaller purpose built ice facility. Construction of the Altrincham Ice Dome commenced in 2006, and the club returned to the Elite League for the 2006-07 season.

1 History
2 Club Roster 06/07
3 Past Head Coaches
4 Current Head Coach
5 Footnotes
6 External links

[edit] History

In 2002, the Manchester Storm, once the best-supported Ice Hockey club in Europe, went bust. After an initial protest against arena owners SMG (based on unfounded rumors that the Arena wanted the team out) was turned into a fan rally in support of the team, a supporters group known as 'The Friends of Manchester Storm' was established in order to ensure that Manchester would get a new team. FOMS came into being after a meeting at Manchester Town Hall when Manchester Storm owner Gary Cowan announced he was winding up the team due to unsustainable debts. Once it became clear that the Storm was out of business and not returning, FOMS changed their focus and became 'Friends Of Manchester Ice Hockey', with two stated aims.

1. To bring top level ice hockey back to Manchester.

2. To bring a new ice facility to the region.

Unable (and unwilling) to use the old Storm name, the new club was launched in 2003 using the name Manchester Phoenix. They were founding members of the British Elite Ice Hockey League and played out of the MEN Arena for their inaugural season. Under player-coach Rick Brebant, and later Paul Heavey, the team finished sixth out of eight in the league, the final qualifying place for the playoffs. Phoenix finished second in their Playoff group ahead of the Belfast Giants, qualifying for the semi-final, where they were beaten 6-1 by the Nottingham Panthers.

Despite an impressive beginning, with 3,600 turning out for the first home game (vs. London Racers), crowds struggled and it soon became apparent that ice hockey at the busiest indoor venue in Europe would no longer be viable. The seasons average was approx 2150 per game. In May 2004 the Phoenix announced that they had the funding to construct a new ice rink and subsequently would withdraw from the 2004-05 season while it was completed. The club had still not managed to build a new venue by Summer 2005 and announced that would not be playing in the 2005-06 season either.

In November 2005, the club announced details of a new rink to be built in partnership with Nikal, David McLean and Trafford Metropolitan Borough Council. The new rink will seat 2,026, with 24 wheelchair spaces, and standing for approx 4-500^[1]. (Although there is some confusion as the latest plans have 2 capacities listed for seating: 2,026 and 2,200. It remains to be seen which of these is correct.) Planning permission for the rink was granted in early January 2006 and construction began on March 30.^[2]

The building was scheduled to host its first game on September 24th, but delays meant this date was revised to November 30th 2006 at a pre season meeting between the fans and club management held on September 3rd 2006. In the interim, home games were held at either Ice Sheffield or Deeside Leisure Centre. Poor weather resulted in further delays, and the new ice dome was scheduled to open on the 28th of January, 2007, Phoenix hosting the Basingstoke Bison. This date was also missed, and the rink eventually opened (with a reduced capacity of 1,000) on February 25th, when the visitors were the Basingstoke Bison.

In April 2006, the Phoenix announced their new coach would be Tony Hand, regarded by many to be the finest British ice hockey player of all time.On Tuesday, 16th January 2007,Tony Hand, MBE has announced that he will be staying with Manchester Phoenix,having accepted terms with the club to a new two-year contract and with a new title of Director of Hockey.