The Defunct: New Orleans Brass
July 22, 2019
Minor professional hockey is quite an ever-changing landscape in North America. Many leagues and teams that once saw fans attend by the hundreds or even thousands have now faded into the pages of hockey history books. Some haven't been around in decades, while others are a fairly recent memory. On here, we talk about even just one of these leagues and/or teams. They are... The Defunct.
For the first time in this series, I want to talk about a specific team, one whose climb and immediate fall was one that left a void in what could've been a promising hockey city today. This is the story of the New Orleans Brass.
1997-98 Season and The Start of Professional Hockey in NOLA
The year is 1997, a local investment group, one that included future New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, has just secured an ECHL franchise for the city of New Orleans. This was a landmark achievement, as the group was majorly run by African-American ownership, something that even to this day is very rare to see in any capacity in sports. To say the franchise was a bold investment was quite the understatement, as New Orleans had never hosted pro hockey before and most of the population didn't know much, if anything, about the sport.
In their inaugural season, the Brass had an average of 4,432 people a game coming into the aging, non-oriented for hockey New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. On the ice, the team had a winning record and were able to reach the Kelly Cup Playoffs in their first season. After having posted a record of 34-26-10, the Brass would be bounced out of the playoffs by Southwest Division rival the Pensacola Ice Pilots in four games. It would bring the franchises first playoff game victory, as they beat Pensacola on the road in Game Two by a 6-4 score. New Orleans began a two-year stint as the ECHL team for the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens this season as well.
1998-99 Season and Finding Playoff Success
For the 1998-99 season, it ended up being their worst regular season in franchise history. Posting a 30-27-13 record for 4th place in the Southwest Division, it also brought in what would be the worst attendance in franchise history, bringing in only 3,898 people a game on average. Despite this, the team ended up having its best playoff performance. In the First Round, they swept a best-of-three series over the Jacksonville Lizard Kings. Then in the Second Round, they beat in-state rival Louisiana IceGators in a best-of-five series three games to two. That particular series may have very well been the franchise highlight, especially since the IceGators were a near perennial ECHL powerhouse. Unfortunately for the Brass, their playoff run would end to the Pee Dee Pride in four games in the Third Round.
1999-2000 Season Atop the Brass Bell Curve
Things were becoming as shiny as a new brass instrument as the 1999-2000 season began a new era for the New Orleans Brass. They had begun playing in their new home, the creatively named New Orleans Arena. Thanks to the new arena, the teams' playoff success the previous season, and another winning season led to the Brass bringing in 6,271 fans on average a night. That average would be the highest the Brass would see during their history. On the ice, the Brass would end the regular season with a record of 36-27-7 and would once again clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth. Unlike the previous season, however, the Brass would be eliminated from the playoffs in the First Round by the Augusta Lynx in three games in a best-of-three series. During this season, the Brass did not have any affiliations and ran independently.
2000-2001 Season and Getting a Festive Makeover
Before the beginning of the 2000-2001 season, the New Orleans Brass would ditch the brass chorus that had represented the team for the past three seasons and would introduce a new logo for their franchise. One being their new primary logo, featuring the word "BRASS" as a stylized trumpet on top of a couple Mardi Gras beads. I'd call it an improvement myself, but let's get onto the season. During the 2000-2001 campaign, the Brass racked up a record of 35-25-12 (the ECHL went from a 70 game season to a 72 game season), their second-best season. New Orleans saw 4,778 people a night during the season, this would also be second-best during the teams' history. As for the playoffs, the Brass would get revenge for the season prior as they were victorious in the First Round over the Augusta Lynx in three games. The run would end in the Second Round though to their bayou rivals the Louisiana IceGators in five games. This season was also the lone season of the Brass serving as the ECHL affiliate for the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators, with the direct parent clubs of the Kentucky Thoroughblades (AHL) and the Milwaukee Admirals (IHL).
2001-2002 and A Forceful End
During the 2001-2002 season, the New Orleans Brass would barely scratch into the playoffs, as they mustered a record of 36-32-4 and would end up being the worst team heading into the 2002 Kelly Cup Playoffs. What would end up being their final game in franchise history would be a one-game playoff to advance to the next round of the playoffs. The Brass would fail to score as they fell to the Jackson Bandits by a 1-0 score. Attendance that season was the lowest during their time at New Orleans Arena and second-lowest overall as the team only brought in 4,385 a night to Downtown New Orleans. During this final season, the Brass once again ran independently of other teams and were without affiliations.
During the summer of 2002, the NBA's Charlotte Hornets announced they would be moving to New Orleans beginning in the 2002-2003 season. The Hornets pressured the state of Louisiana, who owned the arena, to have the Brass pay the expense of converting between the ECHL ice and the NBA court as a condition of being able to continue playing at the arena. To make matters worse for the Brass, the Municipal Auditorium that the Brass had previously called home at just remodeled their floor and thus removed the ice plant that was installed. As the Brass were unable to afford the costs of playing at New Orleans Arena, the Brass would end up ceasing operations as they had no suitable venue to call home.
Aftermath and Epilogue
After the Brass ended operations in the city of New Orleans, no professional hockey team has since called the city home. While I don't know whether an ice-plant is still installed at the Smoothie King Center (formerly New Orleans Arena), but I don't see professional hockey returning anytime soon. The NBA's New Orleans Pelicans still calls the arena home as of the 2019-2020 season.
Ray Nagin, the man mentioned earlier as being a future mayor of New Orleans, would be convicted in 2014 for twenty counts of wire fraud, bribery, and money-laundering related to bribes from New Orleans contractors before and after the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina. Nagin is currently serving 10 years in federal prison for the charges.
As for the Brass in the minds of New Orleanians, many in the city have now forgotten about hockey in the city, but some still remember the Brass and are still hoping that one-day professional hockey calls the city home once more. For me, I hope this happens one day, as I believe hockey should be able to grow and thrive all across the country and the world. The Brass could've worked at least for a while longer, but greater powers forced them into just a memory in the minds of hockey fans.
-Marc of The Robinson Report
Minor professional hockey is quite an ever-changing landscape in North America. Many leagues and teams that once saw fans attend by the hundreds or even thousands have now faded into the pages of hockey history books. Some haven't been around in decades, while others are a fairly recent memory. On here, we talk about even just one of these leagues and/or teams. They are... The Defunct.
For the first time in this series, I want to talk about a specific team, one whose climb and immediate fall was one that left a void in what could've been a promising hockey city today. This is the story of the New Orleans Brass.
1997-98 Season and The Start of Professional Hockey in NOLA
The year is 1997, a local investment group, one that included future New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, has just secured an ECHL franchise for the city of New Orleans. This was a landmark achievement, as the group was majorly run by African-American ownership, something that even to this day is very rare to see in any capacity in sports. To say the franchise was a bold investment was quite the understatement, as New Orleans had never hosted pro hockey before and most of the population didn't know much, if anything, about the sport.
 |
| New Orleans Brass logo; 1997-2000 |
In their inaugural season, the Brass had an average of 4,432 people a game coming into the aging, non-oriented for hockey New Orleans Municipal Auditorium. On the ice, the team had a winning record and were able to reach the Kelly Cup Playoffs in their first season. After having posted a record of 34-26-10, the Brass would be bounced out of the playoffs by Southwest Division rival the Pensacola Ice Pilots in four games. It would bring the franchises first playoff game victory, as they beat Pensacola on the road in Game Two by a 6-4 score. New Orleans began a two-year stint as the ECHL team for the Edmonton Oilers and the Montreal Canadiens this season as well.
1998-99 Season and Finding Playoff Success
For the 1998-99 season, it ended up being their worst regular season in franchise history. Posting a 30-27-13 record for 4th place in the Southwest Division, it also brought in what would be the worst attendance in franchise history, bringing in only 3,898 people a game on average. Despite this, the team ended up having its best playoff performance. In the First Round, they swept a best-of-three series over the Jacksonville Lizard Kings. Then in the Second Round, they beat in-state rival Louisiana IceGators in a best-of-five series three games to two. That particular series may have very well been the franchise highlight, especially since the IceGators were a near perennial ECHL powerhouse. Unfortunately for the Brass, their playoff run would end to the Pee Dee Pride in four games in the Third Round.
1999-2000 Season Atop the Brass Bell Curve
Things were becoming as shiny as a new brass instrument as the 1999-2000 season began a new era for the New Orleans Brass. They had begun playing in their new home, the creatively named New Orleans Arena. Thanks to the new arena, the teams' playoff success the previous season, and another winning season led to the Brass bringing in 6,271 fans on average a night. That average would be the highest the Brass would see during their history. On the ice, the Brass would end the regular season with a record of 36-27-7 and would once again clinch a Kelly Cup Playoff berth. Unlike the previous season, however, the Brass would be eliminated from the playoffs in the First Round by the Augusta Lynx in three games in a best-of-three series. During this season, the Brass did not have any affiliations and ran independently.
2000-2001 Season and Getting a Festive Makeover
 |
| New Orleans Brass logo; 2000-2002 |
Before the beginning of the 2000-2001 season, the New Orleans Brass would ditch the brass chorus that had represented the team for the past three seasons and would introduce a new logo for their franchise. One being their new primary logo, featuring the word "BRASS" as a stylized trumpet on top of a couple Mardi Gras beads. I'd call it an improvement myself, but let's get onto the season. During the 2000-2001 campaign, the Brass racked up a record of 35-25-12 (the ECHL went from a 70 game season to a 72 game season), their second-best season. New Orleans saw 4,778 people a night during the season, this would also be second-best during the teams' history. As for the playoffs, the Brass would get revenge for the season prior as they were victorious in the First Round over the Augusta Lynx in three games. The run would end in the Second Round though to their bayou rivals the Louisiana IceGators in five games. This season was also the lone season of the Brass serving as the ECHL affiliate for the San Jose Sharks and the Nashville Predators, with the direct parent clubs of the Kentucky Thoroughblades (AHL) and the Milwaukee Admirals (IHL).
2001-2002 and A Forceful End
During the 2001-2002 season, the New Orleans Brass would barely scratch into the playoffs, as they mustered a record of 36-32-4 and would end up being the worst team heading into the 2002 Kelly Cup Playoffs. What would end up being their final game in franchise history would be a one-game playoff to advance to the next round of the playoffs. The Brass would fail to score as they fell to the Jackson Bandits by a 1-0 score. Attendance that season was the lowest during their time at New Orleans Arena and second-lowest overall as the team only brought in 4,385 a night to Downtown New Orleans. During this final season, the Brass once again ran independently of other teams and were without affiliations.
During the summer of 2002, the NBA's Charlotte Hornets announced they would be moving to New Orleans beginning in the 2002-2003 season. The Hornets pressured the state of Louisiana, who owned the arena, to have the Brass pay the expense of converting between the ECHL ice and the NBA court as a condition of being able to continue playing at the arena. To make matters worse for the Brass, the Municipal Auditorium that the Brass had previously called home at just remodeled their floor and thus removed the ice plant that was installed. As the Brass were unable to afford the costs of playing at New Orleans Arena, the Brass would end up ceasing operations as they had no suitable venue to call home.
Aftermath and Epilogue
After the Brass ended operations in the city of New Orleans, no professional hockey team has since called the city home. While I don't know whether an ice-plant is still installed at the Smoothie King Center (formerly New Orleans Arena), but I don't see professional hockey returning anytime soon. The NBA's New Orleans Pelicans still calls the arena home as of the 2019-2020 season.
Ray Nagin, the man mentioned earlier as being a future mayor of New Orleans, would be convicted in 2014 for twenty counts of wire fraud, bribery, and money-laundering related to bribes from New Orleans contractors before and after the natural disaster of Hurricane Katrina. Nagin is currently serving 10 years in federal prison for the charges.
As for the Brass in the minds of New Orleanians, many in the city have now forgotten about hockey in the city, but some still remember the Brass and are still hoping that one-day professional hockey calls the city home once more. For me, I hope this happens one day, as I believe hockey should be able to grow and thrive all across the country and the world. The Brass could've worked at least for a while longer, but greater powers forced them into just a memory in the minds of hockey fans.
-Marc of The Robinson Report
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