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Hamilton II: The City, The League, and The Coliseum
Bassin, Erie Otters managing partner and general manager, confirmed Wednesday he has moved closer to finalizing a new multi-year Tullio Arena lease with the Erie County Convention Center Authority.
"I'd like to think we're real close," Bassin said before the Otters' 10-6 loss against Plymouth, which was played in front of 2,256 fans at Tullio Arena.
Bassin said he agreed in principle on certain aspects of a deal with Casey Wells, the Convention Center Authority's executive director, during a meeting Tuesday.
They are working on at least a two-year lease, Bassin said. Bassin said he hopes to have the complete lease done in principle in the next two weeks. Wells wasn't immediately available for comment.
"We have work to do," Bassin said.
I find it amusing that a two-year lease is considered a 'multi-year' lease
A two-year lease is very interesting and very weird number. It's starting to look like this team is heading to Hamilton for 2014-15...
Yeah, but I get the feeling the move is just delayed not cancelled. I find the whole 2year lease thing interesting. It's about the length of time till the Laval arena is projected to be built. I'm thinking that come 2014, we will be seeing a Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL...
Yeah, but I get the feeling the move is just delayed not cancelled. I find the whole 2year lease thing interesting. It's about the length of time till the Laval arena is projected to be built. I'm thinking that come 2014, we will be seeing a Hamilton Bulldogs in the OHL...
yah that does intrigue me a tad.. but i dont think OHL is coming here
now just waiting on councel to screw up the selling of HECFI..
yah that does intrigue me a tad.. but i dont think OHL is coming here
There is a lot of things to shake out first. Andlauer did express interest in being part owner of a potential OHL franchise and bringing the power of the Hamilton Bulldogs brand to the junior club. We certainly will have to see if the NHL comes calling, if the Montreal Canadiens only renew the lease for one year, or if another AHL team wants to affliate with the Bulldogs.
Just for fun. If Hamilton got a NHL Team a division of
Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec
Hamilton
Buffalo
Would be pretty wild..
Losing Boston opens up the division, since they seem to win it every year..MTL would be upset losing them as rivals but they gain QC. Besides, Boston would rather be in NY's division anyways I'd bet.
Buffalo staying in this division helps them a lot money wise, I'm assuming they raise the prices for home games for MTL Tor and OTT now they can raise for when HAM and QC come to town as well..
Just for fun. If Hamilton got a NHL Team a division of
Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec
Hamilton
Buffalo
Would be pretty wild..
Losing Boston opens up the division, since they seem to win it every year..MTL would be upset losing them as rivals but they gain QC. Besides, Boston would rather be in NY's division anyways I'd bet.
Buffalo staying in this division helps them a lot money wise, I'm assuming they raise the prices for home games for MTL Tor and OTT now they can raise for when HAM and QC come to town as well..
Actually, a Hamilton franchise would force more re-alignment. I don't see expansion soon. Hamilton's best hope is that the Seattle arena falls through, along with the umpteenth Islanders' arena plan. Islanders ==> Hamilton, or else NHL faces contraction. I think one thing the NHL owners will try pushing through the new CBA is a 4-division alignment. Here's a couple of possibilities, with PACIFIC and CENTRAL being the same in both scenarios...
PACIFIC
CENTRAL
EAST
ATLANTIC
NORTHEAST
ATLANTIC
Anaheim
Chicago
Buffalo
Boston
Boston
Carolina
Calgary
Columbus
Florida
Carolina
Buffalo
Florida
Colorado
Dallas
Hamilton
New Jersey
Hamilton
New Jersey
Edmonton
Detroit
Montreal
NY Rangers
Montreal
NY Rangers
Los Angeles
Minnesota
Ottawa
Philadelphia
Ottawa
Philadelphia
San Jose
Nashville
Quebec
Pittsburgh
Quebec
Pittsburgh
Vancouver
St Louis
Tampa
Washington
Toronto
Tampa
Winnipeg
Toronto
Washington
The first option is the rejected alignment, with Boston moving to Atlantic, and Islanders to East as Hamilton. The second option moves Islanders to the "NORTHEAST" as Hamilton, and Tampa+Miami to Atlantic.
Just for fun. If Hamilton got a NHL Team a division of
Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec
Hamilton
Buffalo
Would be pretty wild..
Losing Boston opens up the division, since they seem to win it every year..MTL would be upset losing them as rivals but they gain QC. Besides, Boston would rather be in NY's division anyways I'd bet.
Buffalo staying in this division helps them a lot money wise, I'm assuming they raise the prices for home games for MTL Tor and OTT now they can raise for when HAM and QC come to town as well..
Imagine a division like this
Hamilton
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec
Montreal
Boston
Hartford
Buffalo
While we're dreaming, can I just say that my dream division is.....
Buffalo
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota
Ottawa
St. Louis
Toronto
Winnipeg
If Hamilton got a team, we could chuck Winnipeg or Ottawa out for Hamilton to have it make geographic sense, but..... somehow doubting that'll happen though, for a variety of reasons.
Bassin didn't disclose specific terms and conditions. Casey Wells, the Convention Center Authority's executive director, declined comment on the lease until he receives the signed paperwork from Bassin.
"We want to keep the Otters here forever," Wells said. "Two years is a good step. It beats one year."
Monday's announcement silenced persistent rumors and speculation that the franchise would move to Hamilton, Ontario, for the 2012-13 season. Frey kept in contact with Bassin regarding lease negotiations since the hiring process began in January. Frey said he was confident an agreement would be reached because Bassin "was confident all along that it was going to get done. His word is golden to me."
Bassin figures the Otters' reported connection to Hamilton arose from inquiries made by officials from undisclosed communities in Ontario and the United States regarding the relocation talk.
"I had talked to lots of people. When you don't have a lease, you're going to talk to lots of people," he said. "It wasn't a bargaining ploy. I was concerned (about) the Saturdays we'd lost (and) with all these new events going on. Those were all factors that I had to absorb."
Quite frankly, a two-year lease is nothing. It coincidently represents how much time before the Laval arena opens and the potential move of the Canadiens affliation. I think we're going to see this team move to Hamilton in two years and see Andlauer buy in bringing the Bulldogs brand with him...
Still not running with the Big Boys though. An OHA franchise is woefully short on requirements for Copps, which daily, monthly, year by decade grows weary with age & waiting, giving the NHL further excuse to bar the door.
We should all know in a few weeks who will run HECFI. all signs point to the bid by Katz\AEG. will be the winning bid & then we should know what there plans are for Copps Coliseum & the chance of a future NHL. team in Hamilton .
Multinational bidders interested in all three HECFI venues:
AEG Facilities/Katz Group
•AEG operates more than 100 stadiums and arenas worldwide, including the Key Arena in Seattle, WA, and the Target Center in Minneapolis, MN.
•AEG owns the Los Angeles Kings, while Katz Group owns the Edmonton Oilers.
•In 2009, the Katz Group unsuccessfully tried to woo council into giving it exclusive rights to attract an NHL team and to manage all of HECFI.
Global Spectrum/Live Nation
•Global Spectrum operates 40 arenas, 13 stadiums, 32 convention centres and six theatres around the world; its parent company, Comcast Spectacor, owns the Philadelphia Flyers. •Global Spectrum also operates 11 facilities for seven Canadian clients, including their Canadian headquarters at the John Labatt Centre in London, ON.
•Live Nation is one of the world’s leading concert promoters.
SMG/Forum Equity
•SMG manages 77 arenas, 54 theatres and 68 convention centres around the world, including two NHL venues (homes of the Pittsburgh Penguins and the New York Islanders).
•SMG also manages the business operations of two minor league hockey teams.
•Forum Equity is a Toronto-based development firm with a history of partnerships with the City of Hamilton. It also proposed a Pan Am stadium design by renowned architect Frank Gehry.
We were discussing this at the bottom of page 13 and page 14 of this thread.
Still not running with the Big Boys though. An OHA franchise is woefully short on requirements for Copps, which daily, monthly, year by decade grows weary with age & waiting, giving the NHL further excuse to bar the door.
Damn straight. More yesterdays than tomorrows which is why before I go I wanna see an NHL franchise playing out of Copps. If it doesnt happen, "The Others" have told me I'll wind up wandering the halls of Maple Gardens & the ACC for eternity.
While we're dreaming, can I just say that my dream division is.....
Buffalo
Chicago
Detroit
Minnesota
Ottawa
St. Louis
Toronto
Winnipeg
If Hamilton got a team, we could chuck Winnipeg or Ottawa out for Hamilton to have it make geographic sense, but..... somehow doubting that'll happen though, for a variety of reasons.
Would like to see:
Chicago
Dallas
Minnesota
Nashville
St. Louis
Winnipeg
Just for the fact the teams are all in the same time zone.
Quite frankly, a two-year lease is nothing. It coincidently represents how much time before the Laval arena opens and the potential move of the Canadiens affliation. I think we're going to see this team move to Hamilton in two years and see Andlauer buy in bringing the Bulldogs brand with him...
Just for fun. If Hamilton got a NHL Team a division of
Montreal
Toronto
Ottawa
Quebec
Hamilton
Buffalo
Would be pretty wild..
Losing Boston opens up the division, since they seem to win it every year..MTL would be upset losing them as rivals but they gain QC. Besides, Boston would rather be in NY's division anyways I'd bet.
Buffalo staying in this division helps them a lot money wise, I'm assuming they raise the prices for home games for MTL Tor and OTT now they can raise for when HAM and QC come to town as well..
Just for the record (since i'm a BUF season ticket holder)...Toronto are considered "Gold" games which is $140 for a lower bowl ticket. No opponent comes close to drawing their fans to Buffalo like Toronto so they jack it up. I think Pittsburgh is a gold too. MTL and OTT are usually Silver games which translates to about $100 for a lower bowl ticket. There's always a decent amount of Canadians fans in the house, Ottawa not so much. Teams like Philly, Boston, Wash and the NY Rangers are also silver games as a comparison. The next level are "Value" games which are bascially your Lightning, Hurricanes and Islanders of the world....
Hey zman, as a Sabres STH, I'm wondering what your opinion would be in regards to a Hamilton NHL team.
Would such a team be good for the Sabres if they were in the same division? Would Hamilton games be GOLD games?
If you think a Hamilton franchise would hurt the Sabres, I'm wondering to what degree you think that would be?
Do you have any inkliing what part of Ontario those Canadian Sabres fans are from? Mostly Fort Erie, NF, St Catherine's? How far west do a substantial number of them come from?
(BTW, Go Sabres, Go!. Hope they bump the Caps out of a playoff spot!)
