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OHL: No new arena? No IceDogs says owner

sunaya sapurji

There's a new twist in the latest saga between the Niagara IceDogs and the city of St. Catharines over the building of a new arena to house the OHL franchise.

According to IceDogs owner Bill Burke, the OHL's board of governors have given him an ultimatum.

"The Ontario Hockey League and the board of governors have told us that if we don't have a new facility, then the IceDogs can no longer continue in that existing facility," Burke told the St. Catharines Standard on Thursday.

The article and the threat of relocation seem perfectly timed seeing as city council is set to vote "yay or nay" on the 5,000-seat project on Monday.

Councillors were given several building options to consider, with price tags ranging from $52.5 million to $64 million for new facilities.

Vocal arena supporters and opponents have stepped up on both sides of the debate.

[...]

Burke said the OHL has other communities that want a piece of league action and it's out of his hands if the league wants to move the IceDogs.

"The OHL always has other communities that are looking for an OHL team as an anchor tenant so they can build their community," he said.

"The recommendation would be that the IceDogs would have to move to one of them." (St. Catharines Standard)

Talk about your full-court press.

So how many cities during these tough economic times are really in the market for an OHL team? How many have a viable arena or are willing to modify or build one? Cornwall and North Bay are essentially the OHL's "Ted Nolans" of the relocation game — the name that comes up every time there's an opening.

North Bay has already been bandied about a potential home for the OHL's Brampton Battalion, who like their GTA counterparts the Mississauga Majors, are struggling to draw fans. There are also rumours that Majors owner Eugene Melnyk would like to move his OHL franchise closer to his NHL team in Ottawa, meaning Cornwall might be a good fit if he's willing to pay his way out of the Hershey Centre's ironclad lease.

And that's not even mentioning the Western Conference's Erie Otters, who have been rumoured to be moving or for sale on an almost weekly basis with arena problems of their own.

It sounds like all those potential OHL suitor cities could have their pick of junior teams to choose from.

This isn't the first time the IceDogs have been "rumoured" to be leaving, nor is it the first time the fear of such a move has been brought up — last year it was Chatham, Ont.

There have been stories like this one, in which Bob Cavalieri, the senior vice-president of business development for SMG — a venue management firm — touts the benefits of a new areana:

Kingston's K-Rock Centre, said Cavalieri, is just a couple of years old and is seeing success with a wide variety of events, from concerts to curling to family shows, and even a charitable benefit that raised $70,000. (Niagara This Week)

But there are also harsh realities to consider, too...

Under the management of SMG Canada, the K-Rock Centre, which opened in 2008, has consistently fallen below revenue projections.

[Kingston city council] has dipped into its capital reserves for $1.1 million to cover the shortfalls.

"I want to initiate a discussion with council in March to talk about the situation," said [Kingston mayor Mark] Gerretsen. "What are we going to do? Are we going to budget for it or keep dipping into reserves?" (Kingston Whig Standard)

On Monday, hopefully, the people whose voices matter most will have their say: the taxpayers — the people who will have to pay for it, either with their pocketbooks or potentially with their team.

Sunaya Sapurji is the Junior Hockey Editor at Yahoo! Sports.
Email: sunaya@yahoo-inc.com | Twitter @Sunayas.