Done deal; Gough and McEwan take over Stingrays

The Excel Hull Stingrays will enter the 12/13 Elite Ice Hockey League campaign - their tenth season in existence and seventh in the top flight - under new ownership after it was today confirmed that Nic Gough and Bobby McEwan had agreed terms with the Coventry Blaze ownership group to take over the club.

The long awaited deal will transfer ownership of the club and make to local businessman Gough and former Humberside Seahawk and Stingrays assistant coach McEwan the club's third ownership group in ten seasons provided Hull City Council agree, as expected, to their proposal regarding the Hull Arena ice-time contract.

An official statement from the now former owner James Pease read:

"The deal is done pending their award of the ice time contract at the Arena and we are delighted that Nic and Bobby are taking over. The club desperately needs to be under local ownership and direction and now it has that. We kept the club alive when that looked impossible but for it to be taken forward now, it needs to be operated by people from the area. 

From our perspective we were asked by many of the supporters to find them an owner who would keep them in the Elite League and who had the best interests of the club at heart. We've done that and I'm sure everyone will get behind Nic and Bobby as they take over. 

We know things haven't been perfect, especially during last season, but it's been very difficult for us to run two clubs, especially with one being so far away from where we are based. It's now time for us to focus on the job we have to do in Coventry and for Nic and Bobby to focus on taking the Stingrays forward. We look forward to many on ice battles in the coming seasons. 

As we say goodbye, we'd like to thank everyone who supported us during the last two seasons, sponsors, supporters and volunteers but especially, Sylvain Cloutier and the players who did such a great job. We really do wish Nic and Bobby all the very best."

The deal ends a particularly turbulent period in the club's history which began with rumours prior to the end of the season that suggested the Coventry based ownership group of Andy Buxton, Mike Cowley, James Pease and Paul Thompson were looking to offload the club to a willing suitor.

This was confirmed on 9 April in an article in the Hull Daily Mail, however, it took until 25 April for the group to officially rule themselves out of owning the Stingrays heading in to 12/13. After a minor ownership battle with local businessman Paul Fielder and former player Slava Koulikov, Gough and McEwan have now agreed an unspecified fee to takeover as the club's new owners.

The outgoing Coventry ownership have endured a real rollercoaster time during their stay in Hull.

They began their tenure as absolute saviours of the Stingrays - having picked the club up from the depths after Mike and Sue Pack stepped away as the season drew agonisingly close - and they went on to have a successful first year in the city, despite the lack of preparation, increasing attendances as the club had a record year on ice.

Third year coach Sylvain Cloutier was afforded the time and preparation to build a squad from scratch last summer - having been re-signed late in the 10/11 season. However, after a great pre-season, the club struggled to find form early on. Amid rumours of financial problems in Coventry, fans turned on the ownership as Joshua Mizerek and Frantisek Bakrlik were released to see only Kurtis Dulle come in to the club as they ran from December on down one import.

Despite the financial issues - and alleged late payment of players, which only surfaced early in the off-season - the club hit real momentum late in the season as they beat Fife, Sheffield and Dundee before advancing to the EIHL Playoff Semi-Finals and EIHL Playoff Final Four Weekend for the first time thanks to a historic and memorable two legged Quarter Final victory over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield Steelers.

With turbulent times now hopefully behind them, the Rays can look forward to a future with a local owner, amazingly for the first time in their history.

In the same statement new owner Gough said:

"I'd like to thank Andy, Mike, James and Paul for all they did to keep the Stingrays alive and develop things to where they are now. It's been tough for them at times but, like us, everyone in Hull should be appreciative of the great foundations they have laid for the Stingrays that are now our responsibility to build on. 

The agreement we have reached with them has helped Bobby and I hugely and has shown us how much they want the Stingrays to succeed under new ownership. They are good people and we really want to thank them sincerely for what they've been prepared to do. They have made an unbelievably gesture that has given us a great chance to take the club forward and it's our intention to do that."

As has been widely stated both previously in this very blog and in today's statement, a huge credit should go to the former ownership group for the hard work they have put in in getting the Stingrays to where they are from the tough situation they found the club in. Though the figure the club changed hands for remains unspecified, the statement does seem to indicate the figure was way below the alleged initial price tag of £20k, which will in turn help the new owners going forward.

Now it is time for the club to move on and begin a new chapter in its near ten year history.

It is largely believed that Cloutier has already agreed to return for a fourth season at the helm and that he has already begun approaching a number of player regarding next season - including some of last season's squad as well as British netminder Ben Bowns. However, the real hard work now begins in earnest with the expected official confirmation of his re-signing coming soon, possibly after Gough and McEwan receive the green light on Hull Arena ice time.

Off-ice too, it is likely a huge amount of man hours will need to be put in in order for the club to build from the solid position it was left in by the previous regime.

Whatever the situation, the uncertainly surrounding the Stingrays has now - barring a shock decision from Hull City Council - dispersed and that in itself is reason to once again look forward to the summer and season ahead.

Go Rays!

Stingrays enter crucial period off-ice after on-ice success

The Excel Hull Stingrays have entered a crucial period in their short history, just days after making their historic first ever appearance at the Elite Ice Hockey League's Finals Weekend in a Playoff Semi-Final against the Nottingham Panthers at the Capital FM Arena.

Prior to a bittersweet playoff campaign, which saw the Stingrays beat the Sheffield Steelers over two legs before capitulating 10-3 to the Panthers during their first ever EIHL semi-final appearance, the club's ownership group - consisting of Coventry Blaze owners Andy Buxton, Mike Cowley, Paul Thompson and James Pease - confirmed that they were in a number of discussions regarding the future of the Stingrays - including possibly offloading the club to new owners.

A tough year financially in Coventry has forced the group to re-focus their priorities ahead of next season and, having saved the Stingrays from going out of business two years ago for the good of both themselves and the league as a whole, they are understandably looking at all their options heading into next season.

Having stated their intention to turn the Stingrays into a viable, self-sustaining business from the outset, they have made great strides in increasing attendances and sponsorship, and are allegedly just four figures from breaking even. Though that four figure break even number is a rough figure and could settle anywhere between £1,000 and £9,999 in the red, that in itself is an achievement considering prior to the 10/11 season it stood at £150,000 before previous owners Mike and Sue Pack withdrew from the club.

Thanks to their healthy relationship with former Coventry captain and Stingrays player-coach Sylvain Cloutier that intent has translated into two record breaking season's on-ice in which the Rays first finished seventh, setting a record points total in 10/11, before again finishing seventh this season, also making the end of season Final Four weekend for the first ever time.

The positives and value they have added to the club since taking over from the Pack's is there for all to see, although that is not to diminish the incredible job the Packs did in their seven years, after starting the club from nothing following the collapse of the Hull Thunder.

Nevertheless, there have been some vocal critics of the current ownership group with a lack of communication with fans something frequently brought up, though it does have to be said this is often a bug-bear of sporting fans in general, in a modern age where information, speculation and rumour is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Unsurprisingly, their fans in Coventry have also criticised the arrangement, pointing out that the Blaze were allegedly in serious trouble financially this season, something not helped by the split of their investment in time and resources between the two clubs.

With the club on something of a high and feeling amongst fans incredibly positive after the team's against-all-odds EIHL Playoff Quarter Final victory over Yorkshire rivals Sheffield and EIHL Semi-Final, despite the heavy defeat to Nottingham, it looks as though now is as good a time as any to part-ways with the Stingrays and offload them to a willing suitor.

Much to the surprise of many in the British game, Buxton reiterated on Monday that there are "a lot of options" being considered and, therefore, a lot of options available.

Two would-be owners have already publicly stated that they have made bids for the club. First to confirm his bid was Stingrays bench and assistant coach to Sylvain Cloutier, Bobby McEwan. The Scot - who has lived in the city for the last two decades - revealed he had made a bid for the club prior to last weekend.

Perhaps more surprising than the fact there are a number of potential suitors looking to take over the club is that the current owners are apparently looking for something in return for giving up the club - potentially a cash sum. McEwan revealed to the Hull Daily Mail, "the current owners have made it known they were willing to step away and negotiations have been ongoing for a few weeks. I've made an offer, but obviously they are looking to sell it for as much as they can."

Though the price of the club is unknown, and will likely remain that way, it wouldn't be surprising at all were Buxton and co. looking for the previously mentioned break even, four figure sum to wipe out their losses and leave the city as they arrived.

Rumours of bids from player-agent Ben Milhench and former player Slava Koulikov and Dan Cloutier - former NHLer and brother of Stingrays coach Sylvain - have generally been discredited but may still be involved in potential bids.

Though further speculation suggests Hull City owners Assem and Ehab Allam - who attended a game against Coventry earlier in the year and have already donated a five figure sum to the Hull Stingrays Community Foundation - are also interested - having invested money in the all major sporting sides in Hull in the last year and a half.

However, today local businessman and ice hockey fan Paul Fielder revealed that he too is interested in taking over becoming the second man to announce his interest, he said:

"They know I'm interested, but in anything like this it's a business decision and the current owners have a product to sell. It's a case of waiting to see whether they are interested in taking the matter any further"

According to the Hull Daily Mail, Fielder recently sold previous company Lime Property - through whom he had first become involved with the club after previous owners the Packs spoke to him regarding players accommodation, while he has also sponsored both Hull KR and Hull FC.

Still, despite the offers, it isn't beyond the realms of possibility that, once everything is evaluated, the current Coventry based ownership remains in place, should they not receive a satisfactory offer. As unlikely as it seems, it would make more sense financially to remain in place than letting an unprepared new owner take control and seriously struggle financially, something the EIHL has seen far too often during it's nine years.

So far without a coach or any players for the 2012/2013 EIHL campaign - which begins in September - one thing is for sure, the club has already fallen behind the position they were in at this point last season, when they had player-coach Cloutier and topscorer Jereme Tendler signed up, and Brits Dan Scott, Jack Watkins, Tristan Harper and Sam McCluskey set to be announced.

Likewise, at this point in the off-season they have also fallen behind other Elite League club's - most of whom have re-signed coaches and players. Traditionally, the end of the playoffs signals the beginning of the off-season and, as a result, players will begin looking for new club's and coaches for new players, something the Stingrays will be unable to do in their current uncertain position.

It seems highly likely that key Stingray imports Jason Silverthorn - who notched a career year this season - Jereme Tendler and Christian Boucher will be highly valued both in the UK and abroad, while coach Cloutier has already revealed he has turned down a job offer with a French speaking side. The market for British players such as Sam McCluskey, Dan Scott, Tristan Harper, Andy McKinney and even rookie revelation Bobby Chamberlain is always a hot one and will be more so now, given these players now have a year of Elite League experience under their belts

These players can't and won't wait forever, and as such it is crucial the current negotiation phase of the potential ownership change occurs as swiftly and cleanly as possible, so as to allow the Stingrays the best possible chance of improving for a fifth successive season, hopefully under Cloutier but perhaps not, during 12/13.

More important than that, however, is that the club's next owners - potentially their third in nine season's - are financially sound and able to help the Stingrays continue their upward trend both on and off-ice.

Stingrays are back!

The Hull Stingrays have been revived for the 10/11 Elite League campaign with new owners Paul Thompson, James Pease, Andy Buxton and Mike Cowley of the Coventry Blaze stepping in at the last minute to save the club.

The sports unlikely and somewhat surprising return to the city after less than a week away will see former Blaze defenceman and current Blaze General Manager Pease come in as Stingrays temporary GM, while the owners appoint Hull's own management group, with Sylvain Cloutier returning for a second term as player-coach.

With the opening weekend of the season just two and a half weeks away, it has also been confirmed that the club has received clearance from the EIHL to start the season a month after the leagues other nine teams during the first weekend of October. This will not only allow the new owners to put in place a new off-ice structure but will create the time necessary for Cloutier to reassemble his squad and replace any players that have understandably decided to depart.

So far just James Archer, Matt Suderman and unannounced signing Guilamme Lepine have officially left the club, however, defenceman Trevor Read is strongly rumoured to have found a new club and others may yet make way. New GM Pease also announced on BBC Radio Humberside that the Rays will run with 11 imports, one more than anticipated under the previous ownership, leaving Cloutier searching for at least three new imports ahead of the new season.

Further details of the forthcoming season including fixtures, sponsors, shirt designs and signing news are expected soon.

BREAKING NEWS: Stingrays live again!

The Hull Stingrays have been revived for the 10/11 Elite League campaign with new owners Paul Thompson, James Pease, Andy Buxton and Mike Cowley stepping in at the last minute to save the club.

The sports unlikely and somewhat surprising return to the city after less than a week away, will see Sylvain Cloutier return once again as player-coach.

More soon...