Returning To The Hammer?

I'm not one to believe that "The Voice" in Field of Dreams was right about building baseball fields to attract players or fans, but it seems that Hamilton, Ontario is working on the "If You Build It, He Will Come" idealism. According to a report by Bret McCormick of Sports Business Journal, Oak View Group is currently renovating Hamilton's FirstOntario Centre in an effort to land an AHL franchise for the city. The most recent AHL team in Hamilton were the Bulldogs who left in 2015, so landing a seventh AHL franchise north of the border certainly is something this blog will notice. The question is whether or not that is realistic.

The $280-million renovation happening at FirstOntario Centre includes the building of ten floor suites "combining bunker suite privacy with direct visual access to the seating bowl and the event taking place." With the current operation of the arena focusing on live music and entertainment, the new bunker suites will allow bowl-seating access while maintaining the privacy of the suite.

"It's the right size from a suite perspective in the market," OVG Canada President Tom Pistore said of the renovated arena.

With the changes slated to be done by the autumn of 2025, it seems that Oak View Group and the city-owned FirstOntario Centre are looking to add a few more nights of entertainment by attracting "at least one, maybe two, minor league pro sports tenants" to play in the arena. According to Pistore, "an announcement could reportedly come as early as next year".

One has to wonder which AHL franchise would land in Hamilton considering that all 32 NHL teams have a direct AHL affiliate, so adding a 33rd team to the AHL wouldn't make much sense unless there's a pending major announcement from the NHL about expansion. With NHL teams looking to keep their affiliates close for easier player movement, you'd have to believe that a Hamilton-based team would mean that an Eastern Conference NHL team would be its direct affiliate based on location. If we're looking at attendance trends, it would seem that the Bridgeport Islanders or Utica Comets may be the teams targeted for a move. But will they?

Bridgeport City Council voted in 2021 to keep the team in Bridgeport, Connecticut for ten years while investing "$28 million to return the arena to like-new condition." It seems like the Islanders are neither for sale nor moving any time soon, so that relocation option appears to be off the table based on that report.

Over in Utica, it seems like the Comets won't be going anywhere either as the New Jersey Devils and the city of Utica signed a ten-year deal in 2021 to have the Devils' AHL affiliate in the New York city after moving the franchise from Binghamton. Comets President Robert Esche stated in the release, "We are pleased to announce that this is a ten-year partnership which establishes a mutual commitment between our organization and the city of Utica," so that relocation option seems to be off the table as well.

It's not out of the realm to see another team possibly move, however, as we saw the Vegas Golden Knights swoop in and purchase the San Antonio Rampage, moving them to Henderson, Nevada to become the Henderson Silver Knights. The difference, though, is that the Vegas Golden Knights are an NHL team who wanted to own and control their own AHL franchise while FirstOntario Centre is simply trying to attract a tenant. Unless there's a need for the Maple Leafs to abandon the Marlies (will never happen), the Ottawa Senators to give up on the Belleville Senators (very unlikely), or the Buffalo Sabres to walk away from the Rochester Americans (extremely unlikely), an AHL team in Hamilton seems like a pipe dream.

You know who does need a place to play, though? The ECHL affiliate of the Toronto Maple Leafs who once were the Newfoundland Growlers! And if you look at the divisional alignment for the ECHL, resurrecting the Hamilton Growlers would make a lot of sense considering they'd play most often against the Trois-Rivières Lions, the Worcester Railers, the Maine Mariners, the Norfolk Admirals, the Reading Royals, and the Adirondack Thunder. Add in the fact that they wouldn't be far from the Fort Wayne Komets, Indy Fuel, Bloomington Bison, Toledo Walleye, or Cincinnati Cyclones, so Hamilton makes a pile of sense as an ECHL city.

Putting the ECHL into Hamilton would solve two problems as the Maple Leafs could have their ECHL affiliate much closer to the Marlies and Leafs while the ECHL would benefit by moving into one of southern Ontario's largest markets while being far more centralized for easier travel. As stated on this blog,

"Portland is the closest rival the Growlers have and it's still a 29-hour bus ride to and from St. John's in each direction. With players needing meals and bus drivers under stricter laws regarding the amount of time they can safely drive, that's a two-day trip in each direction. With some teams arriving on game day in St. John's based on their schedule, it's understandable that the logistics may have doomed the Growlers when it came to costs for the opposing teams, let alone the Growlers themselves."

I'll give Oak View Group some wiggle room here because the Hamilton Bulldogs were a solid draw in the AHL, never once falling below 4100 fans per night in a season. Selling the ECHL might be harder than selling an AHL team, especially if it's linked to Toronto, but I believe Hamilton fans want good hockey. The Newfoundland Growlers played good hockey based on their successes, and there's absolutely no guarantee that whatever AHL franchise lands in Hamilton will be good at any point. Fans will come out in droves for any team that's a winner, and there would be a greater opportunity for the Growlers to win in Hamilton sooner than an AHL relocated franchise. Winning means a greater attendance which means a healthier franchise.

I'm hopeful that the Oak View Group is successful in their attempts to attract an AHL franchise to Hamilton, but it almost seems like a sure bet if they approach the ECHL for a "minor league pro sports tenant". Whatever franchise lands there will undoubtedly be supported by the people of Hamilton and I think it would be great to see another championship hockey team in The Hammer, so I'll keep my eyes on this story moving forward.

Of course, there's always the remote, minute chance that Hamilton will do something wild like having an AHL and an ECHL franchise? Wouldn't that be something for hockey fans in Hamilton!

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!