"We will miss having them share the same sports complex and the same training facility, which was an incredible advantage to us," said Peter Luukko, the Comcast-Spectacor president.
"We had a convenient setup," Holmgren said. "Now we have to try to get another good setup."
Luukko called the sale "a very difficult decision for us to make. When we decided to close the Spectrum, we explored many alternatives for relocating the Phantoms, and this really became the best scenario. We looked locally very hard."
Atlantic City was one of the locations considered. "But we came to the conclusion there was no market there," Luukko said.
Before selling the Phantoms, Comcast-Spectacor also looked into building an arena in Cherry Hill.
Luukko would not reveal terms of the sale to the Brooks Group, which owns the Wheeling (W.Va.) Nailers of the ECHL and has ownership interests in the Pittsburgh Penguins, Pittsburgh Pirates and three minor-league baseball teams: the Altoona Curve (double A for the Pirates), the State College Spikes (single A for the Pirates) and the Myrtle Beach Pelicans (single A for the Atlanta Braves).
Rob Brooks, one of the new owners, said the Phantoms' "long-term plans" will be revealed in the next few weeks. Those plans are expected to include the team's location.
"We're going to go with them, wherever they want to put the team," said Luukko, adding that "the goal" was to have the franchise within two hours of Philadelphia.
Luukko said Lehigh Valley, which would have to build an arena, would be a viable spot for the Phantoms.
"That area is growing tremendously," he said, "and we have a lot of Flyers fans in that area, and I think it would be fantastic."
