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JackieMoon

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The City of Hamilton has selected a $500m proposal that includes a heavy renovation to FirstOntario Center, as part of an attempt to revitalize the downtown core of the city, which is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2021 after the city finalizes the agreement this year; there'll be more details revealed when that happens.

 

This obviously has implications for the Bulldogs, but I wouldn't be shocked if the renovations are also part of another attempt to bring an NHL team to the region.

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Around $340.5 million in "auxiliary mixed-use development, including affordable housing" will be a part of any residential developments that come out of this.

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♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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2 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

The City of Hamilton has selected a $500m proposal that includes a heavy renovation to FirstOntario Center, as part of an attempt to revitalize the downtown core of the city, which is scheduled to begin in the fall of 2021 after the city finalizes the agreement this year; there'll be more details revealed when that happens.

 

This obviously has implications for the Bulldogs, but I wouldn't be shocked if the renovations are also part of another attempt to bring an NHL team to the region.

 

Isn't Baldsilly bankrupt? Who else is going to want to move a hockey team to Canada's version of Shreveport?

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39 minutes ago, Red Comet said:

Isn't Baldsilly bankrupt? Who else is going to want to move a hockey team to Canada's version of Shreveport?

Different group doing the renovations altogether;

Quote

The bidder, Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) — which includes Carmen's Group, LiUNA, dpai architects, Fengate Capital, Meridian Credit Union, Paletta International and Jetport Inc. — offered a $500-million pitch.

Some of these names are pretty hefty parties; Meridian Credit Union's assets are worth $23.9 billion by themselves. Paletta International was part of the Burlington group, as well as a big property developer in the region. Fengate Capital is a large investment firm known for being one of the best-run firms in the country.

 

If that group decides they want an NHL team, I'm not exactly sure the NHL would laugh them out of the building, especially since it's pretty much an open secret that they'd love a second team in the Golden Horseshoe.

 

Balsillie's attempts to bring an NHL team to Hamilton failed because of one critical mistake; he didn't play by the Board's rules and kept trying to circumvent them. The NHL wants a second team in the Golden Horseshoe, make no mistake about that; but they want a group that plays by their rules owning it, not a rogue element like Balsillie was. Had Balsillie simply played ball like the other owners, we'd be talking about how a team like Pittsburgh or Nashville became the new Hamilton NHL team right now.

 

And Hamilton's not really "Canada's version of Shreveport". More like the Pittsburgh to Toronto's Philadelphia; which is appropriate, since Pittsburgh and Hamilton have a fair share of things in common, including their traditional sports colors.

 

Though that's all future talk; the primary focus for the group right now is obviously the Bulldogs, and an NHL team is just a potential way to get another return on the investment. 

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6 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

If that group decides they want an NHL team, I'm not exactly sure the NHL would laugh them out of the building, especially since it's pretty much an open secret that they'd love a second team in the Golden Horseshoe.

 

They absolutely would not.

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16 hours ago, Ridleylash said:

If that group decides they want an NHL team, I'm not exactly sure the NHL would laugh them out of the building, especially since it's pretty much an open secret that they'd love a second team in the Golden Horseshoe.

Since when?

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A tentative deal has been reached by the owners of the ECHL Newfoundland Growlers to place an expansion team in Trois Rivieres for the 2021-22 ECHL season. No official announcement yet but the owner of the Growlers say they are staying in St. John's.

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Ah, Trois-Rivieres, the land of my people. Cool. Hope St. John's can stay on the map, but Trois-Rivieres would be a good place for a Habs affiliate and a better place for a Nordiques affiliate.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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3 hours ago, the admiral said:

Ah, Trois-Rivieres, the land of my people. Cool. Hope St. John's can stay on the map, but Trois-Rivieres would be a good place for a Habs affiliate and a better place for a Nordiques affiliate.

I believe the intention is for Trois-Rivieres to be the affiliate for Montreal and Laval. Newfoundland is with the Torontos, and Brampton is with Ottawa/Belleville.

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I believe the plan is expansion and not relo. Throw Manchester in, maybe eventually another Canadian ECHL team if there’s a suitable arena that doesn’t have or losses the QMJHL and you’ve got a great bus league of a division. Newfoundland would still be on a bit of an island but Brampton, Trois-Rivieres, Maine, Manchester, Worcester, Adirondack, and a potential new Canadian team would be a neatly contained circuit.

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2 hours ago, Geoff said:

I believe the plan is expansion and not relo. Throw Manchester in, maybe eventually another Canadian ECHL team if there’s a suitable arena that doesn’t have or losses the QMJHL and you’ve got a great bus league of a division. Newfoundland would still be on a bit of an island but Brampton, Trois-Rivieres, Maine, Manchester, Worcester, Adirondack, and a potential new Canadian team would be a neatly contained circuit.

The ECHL needs 6 more teams to get 32, so here's my best guess as to how it shakes out.

 

Add Trois-Rivieres Manchester and another Canadian team (Missisauga, Hamilton, Halifax and Fredericton are the first ones that come to mind) to the Northeast.

Move Reading to the Southeast.

Add a team in downstate Illinois (Springfield, Peoria, Bloomington or Quad Cities) and Thunder Bay to the Central.

Add Reno or San Antonio to the Mountain.

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  • 1 month later...

Well, guess that's it for Newfoundland again. I don't even know where Coralville is, Iowa not being known for its reefs. My educated guess is it's a suburb of Iowa City because of the black and yellow seats.

♫ oh yeah, board goes on, long after the thrill of postin' is gone ♫

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10 minutes ago, the admiral said:

Well, guess that's it for Newfoundland again. I don't even know where Coralville is, Iowa not being known for its reefs. My educated guess is it's a suburb of Iowa City because of the black and yellow seats.

I dunno, the article calls Coralville an expansion team, not a relocation of the Growlers;

Quote

ArenaCo is the non-profit entity with oversight of Xtream Arena, which will seat 5,100 fans for hockey and 6,600 for concerts. The owner of the expansion club is Deacon Sports and Entertainment of Canada, which already owns the Newfoundland Growlers in the ECHL.

Which I believe means MacDonald now has three ECHL teams; the Growlers, the Trois-Rivieres team and the Coralville team.

 

As for location; yeah, it's a suburb of Iowa City.

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