What that means is that it's all over but the handshakes and congratulations.

And the signing of a few checks.

It's virtually certain now that the Syracuse Crunch will play the Binghamton Senators on Feb. 20 at the State Fairgrounds, in what will be the first outdoor game in AHL history.

A press event to announce the game should be scheduled in the next couple of weeks. The Crunch is trying to coordinate the schedules of Sen. Charles Schumer and Gov. David Paterson, who want to attend to event. Both have been instrumental in keeping the idea alive and finding funding for it.

"All systems are go,'' said Syracuse owner Howard Dolgon.

Schumer compared the effort to being on an opponent's 5-yard line in football, ready to cross the goal line. The game was all but dead when the notion of holding it at Alliance Bank Stadium fell through, but Schumer helped revive it with the help of county and state fair officials.

(An aside: Isn't it curious that the County Legislature all but thumbed its nose at this idea - one that would have cost nothing except money from a fund created to promote the area - but the Governor and one of the most powerful men in the Senate couldn't move quickly enough to help out? Hmmm.)

Schumer joked that he was inspired by mascot Al the ice gorilla, whom he met at a press conference in Syracuse last summer.

"It's not a done deal yet, but it almost is. I've spent a lot of time on this,'' Schumer said Tuesday evening. "It's a great day for Syracuse hockey. At the end of the day, it will make money. Twenty-thousand seats, they will all be filled up.''

Dolgon and his staff are still trying to nail down all the logistics. The game will cost in the $700,000 range to put on, which the Crunch footing much of that bill, about $400,000-$500,000. The Crunch's costs will vary depending upon how much needs to be spent on marketing The team has already rounded up a lot of sponsorship commitments, as well. If the event goes as well as expected, it's been estimated that it could be worth $1 million to the local economy.

Dolgon is going for the AHL's all-time attendance record (20,672, Kentucky at Carolina, Jan. 18, 1997). The tentative pricing has premium seats going for $50, regular seats for $30 and $25, and standing room for $20.

Dolgon thinks the spotlight on the game will be brighter because the NHL will be off for its Olympic break.

"It's not an event that happens every day or every week,'' Dolgon said.

Dolgon plans on turning the game into a celebration of New York hockey history, with guest appearances from famous players raised in the state or who played for a NY-based NHL team.

The team's staff will now attack the immense extra legwork of selling thousands of tickets, putting together more sponsorship packages and marketing this huge project in three short months.

All with the demands of the regular season keeping them busy, as well.

"I think we'll have enough time,'' Dolgon said. "There's been a lot of momentum leading up to it.''

Lindsay Kramer

LKramer@Syracuse.com

