Nationals a no go

NIAGARA FALLS, ON – As owner and general manager of the Niagara Falls Nationals, Terry Whittaker had every intention of icing one of the newest FHL franchises this fall. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t in the cards, or in this case, the building.
The FHL announced Tuesday afternoon that it was suspending the team’s operations due to the failure of Whittaker to secure a lease agreement with the Gale Centre in Niagara Falls. The major issue was getting a commitment for a minimum amount of home-ice dates that the league had required. Without an adequate number of home games, the Nationals would have been hard pressed to survive financially.
“We waited and waited and waited longer than we should have for them to make enough dates that made sense,” FHL Vice-Commissioner Andrew “Sarge” Richards said. “They ran into an issue with the facility and the two junior teams in the building fighting against them, which I guess is understandable to a degree.”
The newly built Gale Centre currently hosts the junior B Canucks and junior C RiverHawks teams, both of which have been in existence for more than 30 years (40 for the Canucks and 31 for the RiverHawks). According to a story published by the Niagara Falls Review, both junior teams had concerns about what the proposed Nationals team might do to their ice time and sponsorships.
Despite multiple meetings with the city of Niagara Falls, which owns and operates the Gale Centre, a suitable agreement was not finalized. Last ditch talks between Whittaker, the city and the two junior programs last week failed to provide an equitable solution for the Nationals.
The rest of the FHL’s members had been waiting for Niagara Falls to submit home dates so that a final schedule could be announced. With the other teams chomping at the bit to promote their own home dates and make travel arrangements for road games, the league needed a resolution to the Nationals’ issues.
Frustrated by the lack of movement in the talks, FHL Commissioner Don Kirnan contacted Whittaker at the start of the week to inform the owner that in the best interest of the league, Kirnan was mandating a suspension of the Nationals’ operations.
Richards said that the league was disappointed in the failure of the Niagara Falls franchise. He indicated that the Nationals would have been a solid test market to gauge how Canadian hockey fans would respond to the FHL single-A professional product in the presence of lower level junior teams.
“We felt if we could get one (FHL expansion team) in there and they did a nice job, then maybe some of those other towns that traditionally lad low level junior teams might be willing to open their doors to us down the road,” he said.
Richards added that he and the rest of the FHL had hoped to see the Nationals and the junior teams work together to benefit their respective clubs. Given the long tradition of hockey in the region, he said that the southern Ontario location and the Gale Centre would have been a good fit for the league.
Had they hit the ice, the Nationals would have been the FHL’s second franchise on Canadian soil. The Mohawk community on Cornwall Island in southern Ontario opened its doors to the league’s first Canadian-based team, the Akwesasne Warriors, a year ago. The Warriors, winners of the inaugural FHL championship, play their home games at the A’nowara’ko:Wa Arena along with the junior B Wolves team.
According to the league, the players picked through drafts by the Nationals were never contracted to the team. Former Rome Frenzy player Leland Fidler was traded to the expansion New Jersey Outlaws. The remaining four former Frenzy skaters will be available to other teams for trade this week and revert to free agent status if they are not taken. Players such as league MVP and outstanding goalie Kevin Druce who were taken in the expansion draft have returned to free agent status.
With the Niagara Falls situation cleared up, Richards said the league does not expect to experience any home-ice scheduling problems with any of the other teams. He noted that the FHL will play five regular season games at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee in Lewiston, Maine that was recently left vacant when the Lewiston Maniacs left. Additionally, the Cape Cod Bluefins may play a small number of home games in nearby facilities instead of at their home at the Hyannis Arena. The 2011-2012 schedule is expected to be completed and announced some time next week.
Richards said that Whittaker, who was unavailable for comment for this story, has not been ruled out as an future FHL owner.
“We hope so. We’re not dismissing him,” Richards said.
Contact the author at wendy.hull@prohockeynews.com .