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Eugene Melnyk already appears to be the hockey team owner that Torontonians love to hate by owning the Ottawa Senators. Now it seems like he will move Toronto's OHL St. Mike's Majors to Mississauga.
The Star
Link to article
New IceDogs owner plans to move club
Majors then to fill void at Hershey Centre
Jul. 12, 2006. 10:48 PM
SUNAYA SAPURJI
SPORTS REPORTER
The Toronto St. Michael’s Majors have finally gone from playing in the OHL’s outhouse to the Dog House.
Majors owner Eugene Melnyk purchased the Mississauga IceDogs Wednesday in a deal that will ultimately move the Toronto franchise into the Hershey Centre and the IceDogs to another city.
Melnyk, who owns the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and Mississauga-based pharmaceutical giant Biovail, purchased the `Dogs from principal owner Mario Forgione for a reported price tag of $9 million. Forgione and minority owner NHL defenceman Chris Pronger originally purchased the team in 2003 for an estimated $4.2 million.
According to OHL commissioner David Branch, hockey operations of the IceDogs will be held in a “blind trust,†which will prevent any collusion. The OHL will also appoint an independent governor to oversee the IceDogs in the coming weeks.
Once the franchise is uprooted from Toronto to Mississauga, the team will likely be known as the Mississauga-St. Michael’s Majors because of Melnyk’s strong ties to his alma mater.
Melnyk has been looking for a suitable venue for his Majors to play in since purchasing that team in 2001. St. Michael’s Arena, which holds 1,600, is the smallest and most antiquated building in the league.
“(The arena) clearly was at the top of everyone’s agenda,†said Branch. “It’s been well known for some time that the current arrangements at St. Michael’s Arena were not suitable.â€
Over the past five years, the Majors have been in discussions with various entities, including Varsity Arena, Maple Leaf Gardens, Beatrice IceGardens and Downsview park in order to find a suitable home for the team. More recently the team had looked at sites in both Vaughan and at Woodbine.
In the end, the most cost-effective scenario for a new arena was to displace the IceDogs and move into the eight-year-old Hershey Centre.
The Majors entered the OHL in 1997, followed by both the IceDogs and Brampton Battalion in 1998.
“I’m not so sure we would have done it any differently when you consider the dynamics that we were faced with,†said Branch of the expansion. “I think that if you could do it again, maybe you would not have wished both (teams) would have come along at the same time.â€
In the meantime, the IceDogs have will have to continue operations with a brave face, knowing that their franchise for the 2006-07 season is mere window dressing for a new city.
“This is nothing against the new ownership, but it’s disappointing,†said IceDogs head coach Greg Gilbert.
“Things were said in the past that you put your trust in, and obviously that didn’t work out. But that’s business.â€
According to one league source, Buffalo, N.Y. is the frontrunner for the IceDogs relocation, though the cities of Niagara Falls and North Bay have also been mentioned as possible destinations.
“I haven’t even thought about that yet, I’m just trying to digest everything that’s happened,†said Gilbert, of a possible move. “I have a three-ear contract which I signed last September. Somebody’s going to have to be responsible for it.â€
The Star
Link to article
New IceDogs owner plans to move club
Majors then to fill void at Hershey Centre
Jul. 12, 2006. 10:48 PM
SUNAYA SAPURJI
SPORTS REPORTER
The Toronto St. Michael’s Majors have finally gone from playing in the OHL’s outhouse to the Dog House.
Majors owner Eugene Melnyk purchased the Mississauga IceDogs Wednesday in a deal that will ultimately move the Toronto franchise into the Hershey Centre and the IceDogs to another city.
Melnyk, who owns the NHL’s Ottawa Senators and Mississauga-based pharmaceutical giant Biovail, purchased the `Dogs from principal owner Mario Forgione for a reported price tag of $9 million. Forgione and minority owner NHL defenceman Chris Pronger originally purchased the team in 2003 for an estimated $4.2 million.
According to OHL commissioner David Branch, hockey operations of the IceDogs will be held in a “blind trust,†which will prevent any collusion. The OHL will also appoint an independent governor to oversee the IceDogs in the coming weeks.
Once the franchise is uprooted from Toronto to Mississauga, the team will likely be known as the Mississauga-St. Michael’s Majors because of Melnyk’s strong ties to his alma mater.
Melnyk has been looking for a suitable venue for his Majors to play in since purchasing that team in 2001. St. Michael’s Arena, which holds 1,600, is the smallest and most antiquated building in the league.
“(The arena) clearly was at the top of everyone’s agenda,†said Branch. “It’s been well known for some time that the current arrangements at St. Michael’s Arena were not suitable.â€
Over the past five years, the Majors have been in discussions with various entities, including Varsity Arena, Maple Leaf Gardens, Beatrice IceGardens and Downsview park in order to find a suitable home for the team. More recently the team had looked at sites in both Vaughan and at Woodbine.
In the end, the most cost-effective scenario for a new arena was to displace the IceDogs and move into the eight-year-old Hershey Centre.
The Majors entered the OHL in 1997, followed by both the IceDogs and Brampton Battalion in 1998.
“I’m not so sure we would have done it any differently when you consider the dynamics that we were faced with,†said Branch of the expansion. “I think that if you could do it again, maybe you would not have wished both (teams) would have come along at the same time.â€
In the meantime, the IceDogs have will have to continue operations with a brave face, knowing that their franchise for the 2006-07 season is mere window dressing for a new city.
“This is nothing against the new ownership, but it’s disappointing,†said IceDogs head coach Greg Gilbert.
“Things were said in the past that you put your trust in, and obviously that didn’t work out. But that’s business.â€
According to one league source, Buffalo, N.Y. is the frontrunner for the IceDogs relocation, though the cities of Niagara Falls and North Bay have also been mentioned as possible destinations.
“I haven’t even thought about that yet, I’m just trying to digest everything that’s happened,†said Gilbert, of a possible move. “I have a three-ear contract which I signed last September. Somebody’s going to have to be responsible for it.â€
Woops, I forgot ... MLSE doesn't want competition in "their" facility.