The criteria for each franchise were:
Year 1
Development of junior hockey and in line hockey programmes.
Club owned by limited companies with a minimum issued share capital of £10,000.
Financial stability.
Minimum safety standards.
Employers and public liability insurance with the club.
Plexi-glass or see-through netting surrounding the rink.
Minimum of at least 17 players on team bench for each game.
Minimum arena seating capacity 2,000.
Penalty boxes, team benches and changing facilities for playing staff and officials.
Standard of lighting to meet criteria set for TV.
Agreement to occupy arena in place until the expiry of the 1997/98 season, preferably with an option to renew.
Year 2
Acceptable sound system.
Plexi-glass surrounding rink and, if required by the local authority or health and safety executive, see-through netting.
Minimum standard for clocks, timers and scoreboards.
ISL Clubs will endeavour to provide seats for 3,000 people by year 3 and 5,000 by year 5.
There will be a yearly audit of rinks and facilities.
All clubs are encouraged to install facilities for the press and media.
Interestingly, though, the ISL Webpage, when it lists the criteria, makes no mention of junior development. Wonder why?
The franchise areas are:
1. Grampian, highlands, Shetland, Orkney
2. Perth, Angus, Fife, Clackmannan
3. Argyll & Bute, North Ayrshire, Stirling, Dumbarton, Inverclyde, Renfrew, South Lanarkshire, Glasgow
4. East, West and Mid Lothian, Edinburgh, Falkirk, Borders
5. East & South Ayrshire, Dumfries & Galloway (Ayr Scottish Eagles)
6. Northumberland & Durham (Newcastle Riverkings)
7. North Yorkshire & Cleveland
8. Lancashire
9. Manchester, Mersyside, Cheshire (Manchester Storm)
10. South and West Yorkshire * (Sheffield Steelers/Leeds ??)
11. Humberside, Lincoln South to A57 & A158
12. Derby, Nottingham, Lincoln North to A57 & A158 (Nottingham Panthers)
13. West Midlands, Staffordshire, Warwick
14. Anglesey, Caernarfon, Aberconwy & Colwyn, Denbighshire Wrexham, Shropshire, Powys and Cardigan South to A44,
A470 & A489
15. Leicester & Northants
16. Cambridge, Norfolk, Suffolk
17. Carmarthen; Pembroke, Cardigan & Powys North to A44, A470 & A489, Swansea, Glamorgan, Newport, Bridgend, Rhondda,
Gwent Monmouth (Cardiff Devils)
18. Hereford & Worcester, Gloucester
19. Cornwall, Devon, Somerset
20. Avon, Wiltshire
21. Essex into London, East of M11 to River Thames
22. Buckinghamshire to M40, Bedfordshire and Hertfordshire into London to M25
23. North West London. Within M25, M11 & M40 (London Knights)
24. Berkshire, Oxford and Buckinghamshire. South of M40 into London A406 on A4 to M25 (Bracknell Bees)
25. South East London. Within M25, south of River Thames to A22
26. Kent & East Sussex. East of A22 & A26
27. Surrey, West Sussex. Into London to A3220, west to M3, A31, M3, & M27, east to A22 & A26
28. Hampshire, Dorset. East to A31, M3 & M27 & Isle of Wight
29. (Ireland)
*South & West Yorkshire has been split into two separate franchises, with Sheffield owning South Yorkshire
and selling West Yorkshire to Leeds.
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