MGM-IHL discussions confirmed

Basically all that remains of the Las Vegas Thunder International Hockey League franchise is a piece of paper that says it still exists and a few hundred loyal fans who have yet to acknowledge that the team isn't gone for good.

And those two elements, along with a new landlord, may be enough to bring the Thunder -- or at least a variation thereof -- back to Las Vegas for the 2000-01 season.

IHL president Doug Moss confirmed Thursday that negotiations are under way that would pave the way for the IHL to return to Las Vegas.

"There have been some conversations," Moss said from IHL headquarters in Michigan. "In the next couple of weeks, we'll know what's going to happen."

According to sources, the team -- most likely under new ownership -- would play its games at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, if a deal is struck.

An MGM executive who wished to remain anonymous also confirmed that there have been talks between the Grand Garden and potential professional hockey tenants.

"Nothing is confirmed," said the MGM source. "There have been negotiations for at least a couple of months. But nothing can be confirmed at this point."

The MGM source said the resort has a keen interest in attracting a pro hockey tenant.

"I think by having the (Los Angeles) Kings in to play an (NHL) exhibition showed there was an initial interest on our part," the source said.

Moss, conversely, said the IHL's interest in Las Vegas never waned.

"I've always maintained that Las Vegas was and would continue to be a great market for us," he said. "It (the Thunder ceasing operation) was never a matter of us not wanting to be there. It was a matter of us needing a sheet of ice."

Citing its cost-prohibitive lease with the Thomas & Mack Center, the Thunder ownership team, comprised of Hank and Ken Stickney and Mandalay Sports, an entertainment arm of the Mandalay Entertainment motion picture production company, announced late last season the Thunder would cease day-to-day operations.

The team lasted five years, and was considered a marginal success from a box office standpoint in a city that traditionally has failed to support minor league sports.

Ken Stickney, the front man for the Thunder, could not be reached for comment. Moss would not disclose what part -- if any -- the former owners would assume with a reorganized IHL franchise, provided it comes to fruition.

"I can't really talk about all of that," Moss said. "There are a number of different things that could happen (from an ownership standpoint)."

One name that has cropped up on that front is Howard Baldwin, the former owner of the Pittsburgh Penguins. An MGM source said he even saw Baldwin on the Grand Garden property recently.

A source close to the Thunder said the ownership team, thinking the franchise still had value, paid the IHL $150,000 to keep it alive for the current season.

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