Hockey In The Inland Empire? It Could Work

By Russell Ingold
Fontana Herald News

ONTARIO, Calif. - Ice hockey. The Inland Empire. Do they belong together?

According to thousands of fans of the Ontario Reign, the answer is a resounding yes.

The Reign (the new ECHL team owned by the Los Angeles Kings) established its kingdom at Citizens Business Bank Arena last month, and the team has sold almost 3,000 season tickets, according to Dayna Cashion, director of public relations.

“We're close to the top of the league in that department,” Cashion said. “The community has been outstanding. They have definitely treated the team like family already.”

But, honestly, I still had my doubts about pro hockey's chances of succeeding in San Bernardino County. Hockey is a good game, but wouldn't it be better to have a pro soccer team here? (Is there any chance of getting Chivas USA to move to the Inland Empire? Probably not.)

But when I asked Herald News correspondent Shel Segal what he thought about the Reign dropping into our area, he was quite enthralled, so we both decided to make the short trip over to Ontario to see the team's first-ever home game on Oct. 25.

As it turned out, it was a quite entertaining adventure, thanks in part to the Reign's 4-1 victory over Las Vegas in front of nearly 9,000 fans.

But many people (including Shel and I) were just as impressed with the arena as they were with the game.

“It's really a nice facility; very impressive,” said David Pulido, the president/CEO of the Fontana Area Chamber of Commerce. “It's going to help the region a lot.”

Tim Kaiser, a truck driver from Tennessee, is a hardcore hockey fan who goes to games all over the country as part of his travels. Kaiser was proud to wear an Ontario Reign “Opening Night” shirt, and he said he has been to most of the ECHL arenas and declared the Ontario facility to be “by far the nicest.”

Laura Bobryk of Riverside is another fan who is hooked on hockey.

“It's nice to have it in the Inland Empire,” she said. “The price where I'm sitting is $23, which is a lot cheaper than my season tickets to the (Anaheim) Ducks.”

The Reign players were delighted with their home and with the response of the fans.

“The facilities here are second to none, and we're treated like kings (no pun intended) in the city,” said goalie Jeff Zatkoff.

Todd Jackson, a player who is originally from New York, said: “This is an NHL rink and they're treating us like an NHL team. It's been amazing so far.”

The coach of the Reign, Karl Taylor, said he thought hockey will indeed succeed in the Inland Empire.

“There are lots of Canadians down here, and lots of Californians who love hockey,” he said. “We've got a great market here.”

If you're part of that hockey market, I would recommend checking out the Reign. Visit the website at www.OntarioReign.com for tickets and more information.