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Sherry Bassin says Erie Otters have ‘never’ had local offer as various cities eye OHL
Well, this might not disabuse anyone predisposed to believe the Erie Otters could pull up stakes for an arena somewhere in southern Ontario.
Otters managing partner and general manager Sherry Bassin, the OHL's lion in late winter, gave an interview over the weekend to Erie Times-News beat writer Victor Fernandes that made it clear Bassin is looking to cash out with the Otters, who have struggled to break even across the past decade in northern Pennsylvania. With politicians in Chatham, Ont., looking into whether major junior hockey is feasible for that small city and with Hamilton Bulldogs owner Michael Andlauer on record as being willing to put up some of the coin for a OHL-suitable arena in Hamilton, well, the 73-year-old Bassin made it clear he's starting to look for an exit after having been around the league since its inception.
That does not mean the Otters and 16-year-old phenom Connor McDavid are as good are gone once the franchise's lease at Erie Insurance Arena expires at the end of this upcoming season. But Bassin acknowledging he's looking for an exit and will not have a new owner stuck with "long-term lease" is fine kindling for a big bonfire of innuendo.
From Fernandes (@goeriehockey):
Q (Fernandes): There has been speculation that you applied to the OHL for relocation sometime between the end of last season and the beginning of this season, but other teams in the league voted against it. Is that true?
A (Bassin): Not true. A hundred percent not true. I talked to the league about buyers. I've talked to the league a lot about it. They know that I'm going to sell the team. I've had lots of communities call me (about the franchise). I mean lots, meaning more than two. I haven't gotten any paperwork done with anybody. I haven't done anything with them. Have I talked to others (about the franchise)? I have. They hear you're going to sell your team. It's not like they don't know me in the game. I've been very open about that. I did an interview with you months ago (stating) that I'm going to get out in a couple of years. I'm not telling you that it's going to be next year or the year after. I am contemplating. I am putting a plan together.
People call me and say, 'I've got a good deal for you.' I'll determine whether it's a good deal. What my plan is has a lot to do with the people that buy. Some want me around (to help with) a transition. Some might say, 'Hey, we don't want old guys like you around.' There's a lot of issues to be involved.
[...]
Q (Fernandes): Has there been local interest in regards to purchasing the franchise?
A (Bassin) (I have) never talked to anybody (locally) about that. The only people that have talked to me aren't local.
(Bassin has denied speaking with Michael Andlauer, owner of the AHL's Hamilton Bulldogs in Hamilton, Ontario, about purchasing the Otters). (Erie Times-News)
There should be no doubt that just as Andlauer is "desirous" of being in the OHL, the league is probably desirous of having him, too. One of the biggest obstacles any new franchise faces, especially in a city such as Hamilton where major junior hockey lead-ballooned time and again way back when, is establishing trust. That would already be cleared with Andlauer as an owner.
The issue in Hamilton has probably never been fan support. It can probably be pinned down to competing for attention with the CFL's Tiger-Cats and not having an arena suitable for junior hockey. The other past Hamilton OHL rumours always seemed a little too blue-sky as long as the options were to play at Copps Coliseum or a cramped city rink. It's worth reviewing what Andlauer told the Hamilton Spectator recently.
Andlauer believes Copps is too big for both the AHL and the OHL. Plus, it’s worn down. A new rink — likely downtown — with somewhere between 6,000 and 10,000 seats would be far better for either level of hockey.
A while back, he researched the idea. The 5,800-seat Hershey Centre in Mississauga was built 15 years ago for around $22 million. Meaning $40 million might get you something similar today. Off the top of his head, he throws out the Sir John A Macdonald school site as a possible location. It’s scheduled to be closed within the next few years.
But the chances of the cash-strapped city paying for a facility seems rather unlikely. So he says he’d put up his own money for part of it in a private-public partnership.
“That’s something I would definitely entertain,” he says. “I would put my money in. I wouldn’t put all my money in.”
... Andlauer’s new lease and his affiliation deal to be the farm team of the Habs each run for another three years. There is endless speculation the Canadiens will eventually draw their prospects to a yet-to-be-built arena in Laval leaving Andlauer with an organization but no team.
An OHL team could adopt the Bulldogs’ name and keep hockey in town.
If he bought a team while still owning the AHL team, he says he could possibly have them play nearby for a few years then move them into Hamilton if the baby Habs left town.
Play in Brantford, for example, at the Civic Centre that’s undersized, but might work in the short term. ( (Hamilton Spectator, March 27)
Getting back to Bassin's disclosures, it reads as if he's trying to play the honest broker — admit the team's less than rosy finances correlate directly to having won one playoff series in the last 11 seasons, but obstruct any talk about leaving town since that could hurt the ticket revenues in 2013-14. It's an awkward scenario, especially considering that the players in Erie, with Connor McDavid foremost among equals, are pawns in this game.
Neate Sager is a writer for Yahoo! Canada Sports. Follow him on Twitter @neatebuzzthenet. Please address any questions, comments or concerns to btnblog@yahoo.ca.
