Sold: Local group buying Wasilla Spirit

JEREMIAH BARTZ/ Frontiersman sports editor

WASILLA - The Wasilla Spirit hockey squad scored one of its biggest wins of the season this week. And it didn't even come on the ice.

The victory came as Mark Lee signed his name across a dotted line. Lee and a group of local businessmen have agreed to purchase the local Junior A hockey franchise.

The only thing holding up the sale is approval from the North American Hockey League. There is no known timetable, but Spirit marketing director Jamie Smith said he does not expect a problem.

The Spirit have been owned cooperatively by a group from the Lower 48 and Jack Tragis, the president of the Fairbanks Ice Dogs.

Before the Spirit moved to the Mat-Su Valley during the offseason, Tragis purchased 25 percent of the franchise with the goal of bringing the hockey club to Alaska from Springfield, Mo. Since the NAHL approved the initial move to the 49th State, Spirit officials have been aggressively searching for a local group to take ownership of the franchise. Smith said the deal is essential to the survival of junior hockey in the Valley.

&#8220This is gigantic,” Smith said. &#8220The Spirit would not be here next year if this group didn't step in.”

Smith approved Lee about five weeks ago about the idea of purchasing a piece of this franchise, and there has been discussion for the last month. Lee is a longtime Valley businessman, he owns Lee Realty, and a loyal supporter of hockey.

&#8220The big thing is he's a local businessman. The contacts, the marketing, this is a perfect fit,” Smith said. &#8220Plus he's a die-hard hockey fan. He has a passion for the sport.”

Lee has been involved with the University of Alaska Anchorage booster club for the last 18 years, and was thrilled with the opportunity to become a part of a Valley hockey franchise.

&#8220Seeing this level of hockey is just exciting,” Lee said. &#8220This is good hockey. Having the opportunity to bring this type of hockey to the people of the Mat-Su Valley is exciting.”

After Smith approached him about the idea, Lee said he talked with his wife about the opportunity. Once she was on board, Lee began putting together a group of investors. Currently there are nine investors, and Lee will act as the managing partner.

&#8220(We're) hockey enthusiasts, from all walks of life,” Lee said. &#8220We're very excited about the whole process.”

Lee and his partners only recently became owners, but he said the work has already begun. He said the first goals are putting together a business plan, and restructuring the Spirit's deal with the city of Wasilla and the Wasilla Multi-Use Sports Complex.

&#8220We need to get a better deal with the city of Wasilla,” Lee said. &#8220What a shame - we're having the first playoff series in Anchorage as opposed to out here.”

Lee also intends to have the Spirit more involved with the local community. His ideas include getting the players to serve as coaches on the local youth hockey teams.

&#8220This team doesn't belong to the owners, it belongs to the Valley,” Lee said.

Lee also mentioned the possibility of a change to the name of the franchise.

&#8220We want to more identify with our area,” Lee said.

A business and marketing plan will be created for an operating budget that is expected to be between $600,000 and $700,000. The purchase agreement states the new ownership group buys the team debt free, and the Spirit can move on from there, Lee said.

Wasilla is one of 30 franchises in the NAHL. In just the first season in Alaska, the Spirit advanced to the NAHL playoffs. That is something the Spirit were not able to do last year in Springfield. Following the 2004-05 season, the franchise known as the Springfield Spirit virtually folded. For the last several years, it has been rumored that the Valley was a likely candidate to land a Junior A hockey club. Seeing the benefit to his own team in Fairbanks, Tragis led the charge to bring another team to Alaska.

The addition of the Spirit to Alaska has created a natural rivalry between Wasilla and Fairbanks, and the teams have been able to share the cost of bringing NAHL teams to Alaska. League rules stipulate teams in Alaska must endure the travel costs needed to bring teams to the state.