Macon News In Georgia

If there's one thing I know about professional minor-league hockey, it's that ownership has to be involved in keeping things moving forward. Usually, that means deep pockets are needed for those who want to tackle that responsibility alone, and one can't be afraid of taking a loss or two when it comes to that ownership. The SPHL saw one franchise fold in recent years as the Vermilion County Bobcats simply appeared to run out of money, so ownership is vitally important to SPHL franchises. In knowing that, we'll see what the future holds for the Macon Mayhem after the man pictured above became the new majority owner of the franchise back on July 13 as the SPHL looks to remain as a viable entertainment option in the Georgia city.

The man above is Scott Gooch, and he will be the guy who is paying the majority of the bills moving forward. There were no financials given on the transaction that allowed Gooch to become the majority owner, but it appears he is primarily in the film location business in and around Georgia with his company, Film Locations LLC. The linked press release from the Mayhem above states that Gooch also has a background in international banking with his LinkedIn page showing a career at Wells Fargo, so it would seem that he has some experience in business. I'd consider that an asset for an owner.

His business seems sound as well. The Georgia film industry isn't getting smaller despite some concerns with the current SAG-AFTRA strike and the recent pandemic woes, but the company's Instagram page shows that it may be or was involved in a number of film and television projects currently filming. With some series on hold thanks to the strikes in Hollywood, production will have slowed, but there are still a large number of projects being filmed in Georgia at this time. And all of those films need locations for staff and crew to live and operate as well as places for filming scenes.

The other thing that needs to be considered is that "majority owner" title means he could own as little as 50.1% of the business. I doubt that's the case here, but it would seem that there are still other minority owners involved so Gooch isn't taking all the risk in owning the SPHL franchise. He'll be on the hook for funding most of the franchises decisions, but he'll also have a say on a lot of those decisions as well. There was no indication how hands-on Gooch will be when it comes to the day-to-day operations of the franchise, but he will need to be involved in setting a direction for the franchise. We'll have to wait to find out what Gooch's vision for the Mayhem is.

Here's what we do know: the Mayhem finished tenth out of eleven teams in the SPHL last season with only the abandoned Bobcats finishing lower. They had a 13-39-5 record, finishing 17 points back of ninth-place Quad City, and allowed a league-worst 257 goals - 58 more than the Knoxville Ice Bears who were second-worst. The Mayhem averaged 1607 fans per game - worst in the league - and often played at less than 20% capacity of their arena. In short, the Mayhem were a mess both on and off the ice in 2022-23, and they haven't seen the playoffs in a full season since the 2019-20 season.

It's very apparent that the Mayhem need new direction, and the hope is that Scott Gooch will provide as the new majority owner of the franchise. Statistically, finding good players to play in Macon will help, so Gooch will need to invest in his front office staff to find good players who want to come to Macon, and we'll see if Gooch has the financial depth to push the marketing department and ticketing department to new heights when it comes to selling tickets at the 7182-seat Macon Coliseum. With just 1600 people showing up last season, there's a lot of work to do.

New ownership doesn't mean immediate success, but there's room for hope in Macon as local ownership often knows the market. There will likely be a lot of long nights and countless meetings needed in order to turn this franchise around, but it will happen if Gooch is willing to invest the time, money, and resources needed to remove the mayhem in Macon to make the Macon Mayhem successful once again.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!