The Central Hockey League has today announced that all CHL arenas will be required to install safety netting at the corners and end zones of their venues. CHL President Brad Treliving has mandated that the netting be installed in an effort to increase fan safety during all contests.
The height and design of the netting configuration may vary due to the structural differences from venue to venue, but should be of sufficient dimension to reduce the incidence of pucks entering the spectator areas in the corners and end zones of their rinks.
In reviewing the netting policies recently implemented by the National and American Hockey Leagues, Treliving determined that similar action should be taken by the CHL. Installation of the systems must be completed as soon as is practicable.
The 2002/2003 Central Hockey League season is slated to begin Thursday, October 17th, and concludes Sunday, March 16th of 2003. Each CHL club will play a 64 game schedule this season, totaling 512 regular season contests. CHL Training Camps can open as early as Monday, October 7th, with each club welcoming a maximum of 30 players. For a complete list of players currently signed, please visit the CHL on-line at www.centralhockeyleague.com
The CHL enjoyed a 16% attendance increase during the 2001/2002 regular season, and led all North American minor professional circuits with a per game average attendance of 4,356 in post-season play.
