Hamilton gears up for new professional hockey team in the city

There’s a lot of excitement in Hamilton tonight over news of a new professional hockey team coming to town. Business leaders say it’ll help fuel a strong and vibrant economy in the city.

The New York Islanders aren’t saying anything more after announcing yesterday that their American Hockey League (AHL) team, the Bridgeport Islanders, are moving to Hamilton from Connecticut.

They’re waiting for approval from the AHL’s board of governors. But people in Hamilton are already raising a glass to the move.

Hamilton’s downtown arena hasn’t had a hockey team since the OHL’s Bulldogs left for Brantford three years ago.

And the head of the Hamilton Chamber of Commerce, Greg Dunnett, calls the new team “a big win” for the city.

He says “this is not just about hockey, it’s about bringing life, excitement and sustained economic activity into the heart of Hamilton.”

Sports management professor Michael Naraine of Brock University says the new team will draw people from throughout the region into Hamilton.

“Having a draw to Hamilton, again, displaces the income and the economics away from other places. And I think Hamilton is very well suited to benefit from that displaced economic activity from places like Toronto west and even Niagara west to generate that revenue,” said Naraine.

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He says one of the keys to attracting the team was the new look for TD Coliseum following its $300 million renovation after the previous Hamilton Bulldogs moved away.

“One of the reasons that team left was because of the inability to have a modern facility with a strong operator. That problem has been rectified. TD Coliseum has been renovated, it’s got strong operators. OVG are incredibly good at what they do. I don’t see this as a situation where the AHL is going to come in now and they’re going to leave in another three or four years,” said Naraine.

Naraine also says there are a couple of key decisions to be made, such as the team name.

“I’m partial to the Bulldogs,” said one Hamilton resident.

“I hope the Hamilton Steelers,” said another Hamiltonian.

And critically, what will the team colours be, for all those fans buying jerseys and hats? Maybe the colours of the Tiger-Cats?

“I do think going with some sort of black and yellow motif would probably be the smartest thing that the organization could do because that would really galvanize the Hamilton crowd. Yes, we are black and gold, we understand this,” said Naraine.

Another name contender might be the Hamilton Tigers, the name of Hamilton’s team in the NHL in the 1920s, and fitting right in with the Tiger-Cats theme.

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