League President Says Bullfrogs Will Return With New Owners

Roller Hockey International President Bernie Mullin has scheduled a March 4 press conference in Anaheim to introduce the new owners of the Bullfrogs.

Mullin, speaking from Denver, said it will take at least another week to iron out details of the sale between the Silver family, founders of the Bullfrogs, and Irvine-based Pacific Sports Hockey Group, which wants to keep the in-line hockey team at the Arrowhead Pond.

“We are confident we will play in the Pond this summer,” Mullin said. “It’s just a question of getting some things [finished this week].”

Mullin said he expects to be able to announce that the Bullfrogs will open their seventh season in Anaheim on June. 6. RHI sat out 1998 because of financial problems.

Manny Martinez, a partner with Pacific Sports Hockey Group, would neither confirm nor deny the sale, but company representatives were at RHI management training sessions Monday in Denver.

Maury Silver, who also declined to confirm the sale, once put a $2-million price tag on his team. However, it’s believed the Silvers took much less. The Silvers appear to be reluctant sellers, but may have had their hand forced by the on-going bankruptcy proceedings of Lilypad, Inc., which they created in 1992 to run the Bullfrogs. Lilypad, Inc. has outstanding debt of $327,000. About $68,000 of that was owed to the Pond.

Pond executives told the Silvers this year that the Bullfrogs would not be allowed to return to the building without clearing the slate.

Pond officials have been negotiating for several weeks with Pacific Sports to put a team in the Pond, but expected it to play as part of Major League Roller Hockey, a rival league to RHI. Pond assistant general manager Mike O’Donnell said he was aware of RHI interest in the arena, adding he didn’t care which league Pacific Sports affiliated with so long as the bills were paid.

The Pond is essential to the financial success of the restructured RHI, which has to have teams in New York, Chicago and the Los Angeles area to satisfy terms of a $2-million television deal it expects to announce shortly, Mullin said.