RAPID CITY - Steady sales of Rapid City Rush team clothing and other souvenirs shows that interest in the new Central Hockey League franchise is building toward the team's debut this fall, team officials and merchants say.

The early December release of jerseys, T-shirts, hooded sweatshirts, hats, and even miniature hockey sticks and pucks adorned with the team logo was well-timed for the Christmas gift season.

"Christmas was really busy and it's still steady. The stuff is moving," Rush general manager Jason Rent said. "We're looking at ordering more things all the time. "You're starting to see it around town."

Currently, items are only available at the team's office at the Rushmore Plaza Civic and at Scheels in the Rushmore Mall.

"They were still big on the announcements of the team at that time. It was nice to have that excitement and it's still steady interest in it," said Dona Ochsner, manager of the Rapid City Scheels store.

"It keeps the team in the eye of the customer between now and the time they play," she said. "It keeps them visible and that's fun to see."

The team mascot was determined through a fan contest last fall. Designing a logo took another month, Rent said.

Items are produced by a manufacturer licensed by the CHL, he said.

"We'd like to get some local manufacturers licenced too, so we can spend our money here," Rent said.

"It's just a matter of them getting licensed with the CHL. Normally you'll see at least one licensed manufacturer in each market," Rent said.

Ochsner said the store strives to carry locally oriented items, including those featuring area high school and college sports teams.

"That's what's key to our business is that we order and buy everything in our stores ourselves. We can really taylor to fit into our community and buy stuff that's important to the people here," she said.

Promotions involving members of the team are also planned, she said.

"We're looking forward to the point when they start getting the roster together and actually getting the team here in town, being able to see them coming into the store," she said.

Rush Notes:

- Central Hockey League players recently voted to recognize the Professional Hockey Players Association as the collective bargaining unit for the league.

According to a PHPA news release, a majority of active CHL players voted in favor of PHPA representation through a secret-ballot vote, conducted by the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) formal certification taking effect April 1, 2008, after a seven-day objection period.

The release stated that representatives of the PHPA, along with a group of CHL players, will initiate negotiations with league management with a goal of ratifying an initial collective bargaining agreement.

- Rapid City Rush head coach Joe Ferras attended last week's NCAA men's Division I hockey championships, The Frozen Four, in Denver, won by Boston College.

Ferras said he anticipates signing the first players to the Rush roster within the next six weeks, with the CHL expansion draft set for mid-June. The 2008-09 CHL season opens in October, with the first home game for the Rush expected in December after completion of the new Rushmore Plaza Civic Center's Ice Arena.

- Since August of 2007, 20 local businesses have become corporate partners of Rapid City Rush. The most recent organizations to sponsor the Rush are: Bank West, Black Hills Community Bank, Budweiser, Clayborne, Loos, Strommen & Sabers, and McKie Automotive, joining Best Buy, Black Hills Regional Eye Institute, Croell Redi-Mix, First Western Bank, Miller Lite, Rapid City Journal, Subway, Watiki Indoor Waterpark Resort, Wayne Dalton, The Weight Room , 1st Choice Realty, LLC, Avalon Construction, Black Hills Interiors, LLC, Howard Johnson, Mandalay Homes, LLC, and Scheels.