On a stormy Wednesday night, the day after the Fourth of July, thousands of hockey fans made it out to see the Stanley Cup at First Horizon Park. By 6 PM, when the gates opened, there were fans in line to see the cup. By 7 PM, when the Cup was scheduled to appear, the line streetched from the far side of Natty’s Hill to the Bellemead Gates.
People waited as long as an hour to get their pictures with the Stanley Cup.
Bob Godfrey.
There were serious fans and fans having fun.
Fans and Employees alike wanted to see the Cup.
Old Generals – Phil Berger and Stanley Trumbull.
As the night ended, there was ONE picture I wished I had taken. Jim Melvin and the Stanley Cup. Mr. Melvin waited until the end of the evening and caught a glimpse of what nearly 5,000 people had been patient to see. Hockey fans are in Greensboro. Hopefully, Wednesday’s turn-out to see the Stanley Cup will encourage Mr. Melvin to shake a few trees to get hockey back in Greensboro.
The only reason 5,000 waited to see the stanley cup was because it was at FHP with a ballgame going on, if seeing the Cup had been the main event anywhere in the triad you would not have 500 people show up to see it, you would have alot more people come to see the Nextel Cup than the Stanley Cup anyday, Melvin needs to build a racetrack somewhere in greensboro, BowmanGray draws 15,000 plus every saturday night with no fireworks.
Many of the anti-Matt Brown campers have said for many years that they should tear down the Greensboro Coliseum and build a top-notch NASCAR track on that site and we would be rid of the ACC and NASCAR would rule the Greensboro Sportscene. We already have a Hooters just down the street on High Point Road and there is a NASCAR Cafe at the Four Seasons Mall. Mr. Johnson may be on to something here, or then again he may on something. College Basketball ratings or minor league Hockey attendance can not compare to what NASCAR could do for our community. The old Winston Cup is the most talked about Cup along with the Dixie Cup in the history of the South. I bet Rich Brenner for one, and probably Richard Petty would be HUGE supporters of this kind of plan. It’s time for a change and let’s go change some oil and few tires while we’re at it good buddy.
At least you’re funny. Jim Melvin shake some trees to get hockey back? You gotta be kidding. It is because of Jim Melvin and his distorted visions of grandeur that hockey in Greensboro died the slow, painful death it did.
There would be no First Horizon Park(Greensboro Grasshoppers) without Jim Melvin and Big Jim could help bring the NASCAR track and the MMA/UFC Fight Center to our town. It might be time to let Hockey and Indoor Football go away for several years and then go after them again when the time is right.
Andy you are wrong, there would be no FHP without Joe seph Bryan.
Mr. Bryan passed away in 1995. An avid golfer, it would have been unlikily that he would have been as supportive of a baseball stadium downtown as Mr. Melvin was. You can learn more about Mr. Bryan on the web at http://library.uncg.edu/depts/archives/bryan/bio.html
Don my point was, Mr. Bryans money built the park.
And Mr. Melvin now controls that money. And if Mr. Melvin sees an advantage that benefits Greensboro – the money will flow from many places.
I stand on my earlier statement, without Jim Melvin there would be no First Horizon Park and there would be no plan for Downtown Revitalizaton, North State would still be selling old beat up Chevys and there goes the beautiful Bellmeade Village and the Flying Anvil would still be in the old Blacksmith’s Shop up in Wytheville, Virginia. It’s time to Agree with Andy and I might get some of Mark Cuban’s HDTV money coming in here to help with the cause.
Without Jim Melvin there would be no Carolina Circle Mall, you see where that is today, without Joey Mendela there would be no downtown revitalization, Melvin is riding his coattails for all its worth, also if you want to bring hockey back go to the Ice Rink that will hold the crowd that hockey would draw in Greensboro.
To some degree I agree with Greg. The Greensboro Coliseum is and always will be too large both in terms of size and fixed expenses to have hockey or any other minor league sports franchise be anything but a failure.
My solution is to build another smaller arena (privately funded, like FHP) that could attract the smaller local/regional events that the Coliseum was originally built to have but grew too big for.