The Legacy Of The Trenton Titans - 25 Years Later

 

It's now been 25 years since the Titans first graced the ice of what is now Cure Insurance Arena in Trenton. The Titans were successful out of the gate, regularly selling out their home barn, posting the best record in the league in just their 2nd season and making the East Coast Hockey League's Kelly Cup Finals twice - winning it all in 2004-05 during the infamous NHL lockout that year. But after 14 seasons and three ownership changes, the Titans were no more, leaving Cure Insurance Arena empty in the fall and winter months. So what went wrong? Why was a successful minor league hockey team torn away from the fans after a little more than a decade? What is the legacy of the Titans 25 years later and...what will it take to bring them back?

Origin

To better understand the legacy of the Trenton Titans, let's first go back to 1996, when Trenton - New Jersey's capital - was awarded a franchise in the burgeoning East Coast Hockey League. Back then, the then 8 year old league had 23 teams with the additions of the Peoria Rivermen and Mississippi SeaWolves. In the intervening years, the league would add 5 teams (Florida Everblades, Greenville Grrrowl, New Orleans Brass, Chesapeake Icebreakers and Arkansas Riverblades) in addition to the Titans. The Titans made the playoffs in 5 of their first 6 seasons - making the conference finals 3 times and winning it twice. They also made the Kelly Cup Finals twice, winning it in 6 games over the Florida Everblades in 04-05. It was great family fun for all with a great product on the ice. There really were no signs of trouble and it looked as though hockey was here to stay in Trenton. But things started to sour after that Kelly Cup run...

The Devils Come In

Just after the 2005-06 season concludes, news breaks that the New Jersey Devils had bought the Trenton Titans and the next year, the Titans were rebranded as the Trenton Devils. This move, combined with a series of lackluster seasons on the ice - missing the playoffs 3 out of the last 4 years under Devils' ownership - alienated the fanbase, which were mainly Flyers (and to a far lesser extent Rangers) fans. This also led to a significant drop in attendance in which Trenton consistently ranked near the bottom of the league's 20+ teams. 

Out With The New, In With The Retro

After the 2010-11 season, yet another season which saw Trenton miss the playoffs, the Trenton Devils suspended operations, effectively folding the team. The league, however, worked quickly to bring back the Titans, right up to bringing back the 'Clash over the Trenton Makes bridge' logo. They affiliated with the Flyers and worked with them to find ownership for the new-retro team. A group known as Blue Line Sports LLC took over the team, installing Richard Lisk as General Manager, just as he was during the team's heyday. The 36 slots reserved for hockey games at what was then Sun National Bank Center were filled almost instantly and in October of 2011, fans welcomed the return of the Titans. However, towards the end of that season, the team was sold again to who else but the GM Rich Lisk. Despite an uptick in attendance to just over 3,500 a game, it wasn't enough as the Titans folded again after 2012-13. Not only that, but multiple reports by fans (and later confirmed by Fox 29 Philadelphia) who had reupped their season tickets for 2013-14 say they had not gotten their refund. Charities were out thousands of dollars, players and coaches weren't getting paid and players were even getting eviction notices from their apartments. Basically, the last ownership group was Alex Meruelo before Alex Meruelo - tarnishing hockey in Trenton for a good while.

Legacy

If one were to sum up the legacy of the Trenton Titans, it would be this...1999-2007 - Amazing. Always winning, always successful, a great team. 2007-2011 - Mediocre, just like their parent club was at the time. 2011-13 - Original GM back, original name back, but the damage was already done.

Can the Titans return?

Answer to that is yes. One problem, though...actually 2 problems. First off - there's no ownership group lined up to pay the ECHL's unknown expansion fee. If the expansion fee for the Seattle Kraken is any indication, I'd expect the potential expansion fee for a Titans 3.0 being upwards of around half that - about $350 million. Second - the arena. 

Now, there's nothing wrong with Cure Insurance Arena. It's a fine building and all and had a lot of work done in the years since the Titans left. However, the big problem...it's located right near the state prison, a very unsafe part of Trenton. If you're going to a hockey game or any event for that matter, you'd rather be certain you'll make it out in one piece and not get mugged or assaulted. Biggest key to getting the Titans back, yes, it's ownership...but it may also take a new arena away from the prison to get Clash and Rivet back on the ice.