OHL coming to Hamilton?

[SteelTown]

OHL coming to Hamilton?

http://www.thespec.com/sports/article/675774--ohl-coming-to-hamilton

A city council vote is the only thing standing between Hamilton and a new Ontario Hockey League team coming to town.

A report that’s being presented to councillors Monday asks them to approve a deal with as-yet-unnamed-but-existing OHL team that would play the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena for as long as five years beginning in the fall of 2012.

It’s unclear who would own the team or which OHL franchise would move here.

If the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs were to leave – the city of Laval, Que. has just approved the construction of a new arena that will be operated by the Montreal Canadiens which is the Bulldogs’ parent club – the OHL team would move into Copps Coliseum. The report councillors will debate Monday says if Copps is not available within five years, the owners will consider building their own arena.

The deal would require the provincial Jr. A Hamilton Red Wings to move from the Mountain Arena to another local rink, likely the Morgan Firestone Arena in Ancaster. In order to compensate for lost ice time for minor hockey groups, city councillors are being asked to spend up to $350,000 on renovating Spring Valley Arena, also in Ancaster.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was worked out behind closed doors with city staff over the past several months – it was signed on Dec. 21, 2011 as the OHL required notice by the end of the year – but is not legally binding until council officially approves it.

Hamilton has a long history with junior hockey dating back to the Hamilton Tiger Cubs in 1953 and then including the Red Wings, Fincups, Steelhawks and the 1986 world junior tournament which was the first major event at Copps Coliseum. The city’s last major junior hockey team was the Dukes which left town in 1991 and became the Guelph Storm.

[SteelTown]

OHL’S Erie Otters looking at Hamilton move: Reports

[CaptainKirk]

That's nice. If it comes, I hope it works.

Personally I don't follow AHL or OHL and if the Bulldogs left I wouldn't care all that much (sad as that reality is).

Now NHL in Hamilton? It would excite me to no end.

[Vod_Kann]

That's nice. If it comes, I hope it works.

Personally I don't follow AHL or OHL and if the Bulldogs left I wouldn't care all that much (sad as that reality is).

Now NHL in Hamilton? It would excite me to no end.

I'm not a fan of any kind of hockey so I'm not one to talk but that in a nutshell is the sad state of hockey snobbery in this area. We (Southern Ontario) claim to be the "hockey hotbed" yet the Bulldogs, Marlies, Mississauga Majors & Brampton Battalion all draw flies. Hate to say it but parts of the US have a much broader support then here (For example, I remember being in Boston and seeing UMass and Boston College sell out the Fleetcenter and outdraw the Bruins).

Anyway onto the actual topic, doesn't Andlauer have some kind of territorial first irght of refusal type of arrangement?

I'm hoping this is some kind of ploy to get a better deal in Erie. We've had 15 years of relative stability on the local hockey front and now we are either going to:

1) divide an already sparse hockey market further
2) replace them with a form of hockey which has struggled everywhere in the GTHA since the 70's

I guess as long as "the Montreal farm team in Laval" scenario is floating, I can't blame the city for hedging its bets. I am thinking that Andlauer and/or the Canadians need to come forward with their intentions.

[Nords]

I think OHL hockey is a great idea. Putting aside arena issues, I've always been more interested in OHL then AHL. Growing up in London it was great to go see Knights games and local regional rivalries are much more interesting then some small US city. I'd rather play against Windsor, Guelph, Toronto, Niagara, etc. Also, OHL really is for the stars of tomorrow. Yes, AHL have a lot of NHL talent but there's also a lot of players that have just never been good enough for NHL or who are sent down (or who get called up screwing over say a playoff run). With the popularily of the world junior tournament too having an OHL team adds excitement. However, I'm doubtful that any team will succeed at Copps without huge renovations and even with that it is just too big. A new 4000 to 5000 seat arena (or maybe a 8-9K seat one that can still be used for major concerts like the John Labatt Centre is in London) would be sweet. I hear the West Harbour might have a surplus of commercial land!

[reidjr]

I hope the team does well but i have my doubts look at the major jr teams in the area they don't do well attendance wise.

[bornagainbiking]

We sure got a heck of a lot minor hockey leagues in and around the area. Wen have a quad pad to provide ice time and talent development.
So where do the young Hamilton talent go? To other cities to play.
If we had a Jr A or OHL team we could showcase our own or draw from OUR talent pool.
On CHML today there were several opinions.
I believe that given free parking, fair pricing and maybe a place to go after the game nearby this from the Mtn arena could start a loyal following that would migrate downtown in time.
I really like the idea of a 5000 seat arena on the Mtn close to the Linc. Just to bring money to a venue and draw families out would be a wise investment.
Just need a name now, Hamilton ?????

[reidjr]

We sure got a heck of a lot minor hockey leagues in and around the area. Wen have a quad pad to provide ice time and talent development.
So where do the young Hamilton talent go? To other cities to play.
If we had a Jr A or OHL team we could showcase our own or draw from OUR talent pool.
On CHML today there were several opinions.
I believe that given free parking, fair pricing and maybe a place to go after the game nearby this from the Mtn arena could start a loyal following that would migrate downtown in time.
I really like the idea of a 5000 seat arena on the Mtn close to the Linc. Just to bring money to a venue and draw families out would be a wise investment.
Just need a name now, Hamilton ?????

No team just uses players from there local area sure teams doe have some locals teams fill there team with the best possible players.

[bornagainbiking]

Further to my last;
If we had local talent and close proximity to rivals, maybe other teams' fans would take a short jaunt on school buses.
So attendance would be enhanced with people from Brampton, St Catharines, Barrie, London (diehard fans), Kitchener etc etc.
The Bulldogs try but most of the teams are more spread out like maybe Houston and Chicago. Rochester and Hershey are not as bad.

[reidjr]

Further to my last;
If we had local talent and close proximity to rivals, maybe other teams' fans would take a short jaunt on school buses.
So attendance would be enhanced with people from Brampton, St Catharines, Barrie, London (diehard fans), Kitchener etc etc.
The Bulldogs try but most of the teams are more spread out like maybe Houston and Chicago. Rochester and Hershey are not as bad.

Your not going to get much interest from Brampton the likes of London,Windsor no question there would be interest.

[go_leafs_go02]

Kitchener, London and Windsor all travel extremely well, and Niagara (St. Catharines) likely would come on down to Hamilton for games...

[SteelTown]

Council postpones vote on bringing OHL team to Hamilton

http://www.thespec.com/news/local/article/677391--council-postpones-vote-on-bringing-ohl-team-to-hamilton

The city has postponed a vote that would have officially approved bringing an Ontario Hockey League team to Hamilton.

Councillors were expected to hear a presentation Monday outlining a proposal from an existing OHL team—which sources say is the Erie Otters—looking to make the move to Hamilton. Council is being asked to approve a memorandum of understanding that would allow the team to play at the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena for as long as five years beginning this fall.

However, City Manager Chris Murray sent an email to councillors over the weekend informing them that the vote had been delayed.

“In advance of Monday’s meeting, I have been asked by the parties directly responsible for the OHL team seeking permission to play at the Mountain Arena to defer our staff Hockey Report,” Murray wrote.

“It’s my understanding that additional matters still need to be addressed by the parties involved. I will update all Members of Council as to a potential date once I am advised.”

The memorandum of understanding was worked out behind closed doors between city staff and the OHL team over the past several months; it was signed on Dec. 21, 2011, as the OHL required notice by the end of the year, but is not legally binding until council officially approves it.

[SteelTown]

http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/20915E76-296A-4DD2-BB3C-2990AE9B5FF2/0/Mar28EDRMS_n284861_v1_Motion_7_1__NHL_Proposal_SubCommittee__.pdf

To change the name of the committee to the NHL/AHL/OHL Proposal Sub-Committee.

[Dr Awesomesauce]

The City doing what it does best ~ avoidance.

[thistleclub]

And on a related note, because HECFI staff and sports fans have goldfish memories, "professional" basketball rumours (http://www.hamiltonnews.com/news/pro-hoops-league-looking-at-hamilton) have come dribbling back five years after the last launch. (http://hooptowngta.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=General&action=print&thread=8034) Hamilton Rockstars refuse to die!

[mattgrande]

Today I learned that there's a professional basketball league in Canada.

[thistleclub]

FWIW, KPMG’s HECFI audit ( http://www.hamilton.ca/NR/rdonlyres/71F09A18-C9AC-4842-9172-D0578EFCF3FA/0/Jun23Item72.pdf) revealed that the Bulldogs’ average 2010-2011 attendance was 4,257, compared to an AHL average of 5,380 in 2010-2011 (5,290 average for the four Canadian franchises).

The audit also showed that Hamilton’s three closest OHL franchises (Mississauga, Brampton, Niagara) averaged 2,552 attendance in 2010-2011, compared to a league average of 4,506. So the Dave Andreychuk Mountain Arena is probably the perfect size.

[thistleclub]

Also gives Copps a freer hand for booking, going forward.

[mattgrande]

I usually try to go to a handful of Bulldogs games, but they just played so terribly this year.

Doesn't the Andreychuk arena only seat 2500? I would guess they'd want a (slightly) larger space.

[thistleclub]

I was going off an IWS 1.0 perspective, keeping it close to the crowd, making for an electric atmosphere and a hot ticket. Build a rabid fan base and go from there.

What's the next largest arena that isn't Copps? Mohawk Quad?

[Dr Awesomesauce]

Today I learned that there's a professional basketball league in Canada.

If I had a nickel for every basketball team that blew through town ~ that nobody bothered to go watch let alone knew about ~ I could probably buy a newspaper or something. Anyway, you get the idea.