The mayor of Brantford, Ont., says he’s “very confident” locals will fill their downtown arena every game, now that city is host to their own OHL franchise.
Just hours after agreeing to take in the Hamilton Bulldogs, Kevin Davis says he’s heard from a number of constituents that have already registered for season tickets and would be shocked if the team doesn’t meet their quota for season ticket sales.
“I was over at the arena this morning (around) 11:00, and there were several people outside quite upset because the box office hadn’t opened yet for them to buy season tickets,” Davis recalled.
“The announcement was made last night and they’re already lining up.”
The city revealed over 1,000 season ticket deposits, at $100 each, for the 3,000 seat Brantford and Distict Civic Centre had been sold as of 6 p.m. on Wednesday night. — less than 24 hours after the deal between owner Michael Andlauer and the city was closed.
Details on how the community can get 2023-24 season tickets were released early Wednesday following a unanimous vote from councillors to accept the Bulldogs as a client and a $7.5 million renovation plan for the civic centre on Market Street.
Parties interested in becoming a sesason ticket holder were directed to a membership deposit form on the Bulldogs website, while existing holders were told seek out the same site to figure out how seats in the new configuration would be allocated.
Davis says initial conversations with Andlauer happened in mid-November not long after the Bulldogs learned they would not be able to play out of FirstOntraio during a planned multi-million dollar renovation that will take at least 20-months to complete.
“Discussions began almost immediately and continued for the last two and a half months and been pretty intense at times,” Davis recalled.
He says the deal is “beyond” just simply getting an OHL team but an initiative to fix up an arena that needs to be updated.
Necessary upgrades include the outdated tempered glass above the boards that would need to be plastic to meet OHL standards, as well as new concessions, lightin, and P.A. system.
“The scoreboard. It has to be a Jumbotron type scoreboard,” Davis revealed.
“Probably the biggest deficiency is the home dressing room … that needs a major revamp.”
Taxpayers are not expected to be on the hook for any of the city’s portion of the hockey renovations, expected to check in at around $3 million.
The city’s total capital investment will be funded from a casino legacy reserve, created 20 years ago, built on proceeds from Elements on Icomm Drive, next door to the Civic Centre.
“So money raised through the casino that was been held for several years now is going to be used,” said Davis.
Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) will start a $100-million upgrade of FirstOntario centre on York Bouelvard in the late Summer and asked existing tenants to vacate the venue for just under two years.
Along with the Bulldogs, the Toronto Rock National Lacrosse League (NLL) team and the Canadian Elite Basketball League’s (CEBL) Honey Badgers were also notified of a need to find alternate homes.
The Badgers opted to move permanently to Brampton, while the Rock have yet to find a temporary home.
However, Rock owner Jamie Dawick has committed to a FirstOntario return upon completion of the upgrades.
HUPEG president PJ Mercanti told Global News on Monday “working around” its tenants during the renovation would slow the process down.