Off the ice, Utah, which dropped down a league in competition, also saw a sharp drop in attendance while continuing to lose money.

However, co-owner David Elmore remains optimistic about the franchise's long-term viability.

"I'm definitely feeling much more positive than I did last season," Elmore said. "And I'm positive we made the right decision by going to the ECHL.

"We still lost money, but we're substantially better than the year before. With more work and support of the fans, we'll get back to even and hopefully get into the black."

The Grizzlies, who

finished 36-30-6 in the ECHL's West Division and lost to Anchorage in the first round of the playoffs, averaged 3,800 fans this season. Last season, Utah's attendance in West Valley City's 10,000-seat E Center was 4,665, which was also down from the previous season.

It was quite a change from the first years when the Grizzlies, who came from Denver in 1995-96, were two-time American Hockey League champions, including the team's inaugural season in Utah. Between 1995-96 and 2002-03, the Grizzlies averaged 42.3 wins and were a perennial playoff team.

But Utah suffered horribly on the ice the next two seasons, losing a combined 90 games (in 76-game seasons). The drop in attendance combined with the expense of flying to predominantly eastern AHL teams created a financial burden.

Elmore decided the only way to stay afloat was to drop from the Triple-A level of the AHL to the Double-A competition of the ECHL, which has teams throughout Southern California and in Boise and Las Vegas.

It was estimated that Utah would save nearly $1 million on its travel budget.

"It's tough to disclose financial numbers, but we've gone from plane rides to bus rides," team president Jeff Zornow said. "We haven't wrapped up our [financial] year end yet, but the picture is much stronger than the AHL days. The cost of doing business is down. Expenses are down."

The team also lost money with a series of ineffective working agreements with the NHL's Dallas Stars and Phoenix Coyotes. In 2004-05, Utah paid Phoenix $700,000 as part of its one-year working agreement.

"We're very pleased with what we see in Utah," ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna said. "They're a great addition to our league. I believe the attendance started a little slow, but steadily increased, which is what we expected. When the team moved to the new league, they wanted to sample the product. Once they did that, they liked what they saw."

Dre Pasi of West Jordan has been attending Grizzlies games for nearly 10 years. She is just happy watching professional hockey - on any level.

However, Pasi can see why attendance was down.

"I don't want to bash the Grizzlies, but maybe the promotions department didn't get out there," she said. "I have friends who live in Utah County and they didn't hear anything about what was going on with the team."

As far as dropping a league, Pasi said, "people don't want to see that. For us die-hards, I don't care, I like the sport. [But] people like winning ways. They want to wait and feel it out. Maybe if the Grizzlies start winning, they'll come. I don't know if [winning] heals all, but helps a lot."

Elmore is banking on a winning hockey club, no matter what level of competition, luring enough fans to create a more profitable picture. Zornow is working for a base of between 1,200 and 1,500 season-ticket holders. There were nearly 1,000 season-ticket holders this past season.

"If we had another 1,000 fans, that would make it work for us," Elmore said. "What we really need is continued corporate support. That's important. Our sponsors saw the competitive nature of the team, and I think they liked what they saw.

"We started out winning two championships. It's a long road to getting back where we want to be."

martyr@sltrib.com

The bottom line

In their first season in the ECHL, the Utah Grizzlies averaged 3,800 fans and continued to lose money. Team owner David Elmore said 1,000 more fans a game, combined with the Grizzlies' less-expensive ECHL travel budget, would move the team into the black.

Utah, which enjoyed a winning season after two non-playoff years, hopes to attract between 1,200 and 1,500 season-ticket holders for next year. The Grizzlies drew less than 1,000 season-ticket holders in 2005-06.