Manchester Storm will return to the AO Arena for the first time in more than 20 years on Sunday, when they face Sheffield Steelers in pre-season.
For a club with deep roots in the city, the occasion represents far more than just another warm-up game. It is a homecoming that has been years in the making, bringing Storm back to the arena where the original incarnation of the team first captured the imagination of hockey fans in Manchester.
Few people understand that better than Brad Jenion. Now 28 and playing for the Storm himself, Jenion was once one of those young supporters in the stands watching the original team at the arena.
“To be honest, it doesn’t feel real,” said Jenion. “I think when I get out there and step onto the ice, there’s going to be a massive amount of emotion. But most of all, it’s just the excitement of getting to play a game in the AO Arena for Manchester Storm.
“To think that 26 years ago I was a fan with a tiny little jersey on, and now I’m getting to put on the actual Manchester Storm jersey and play in the centre of Manchester, is a mind-blowing situation for me.
“I try to take things day by day, but thinking about this right now fills me with excitement and brings out the kid in me. I’m hoping it can have the same impact on the kids of Manchester that it had on me.”
For Jenion, the return also speaks to the lasting impact the Storm had on the city during their original run at the arena. “It’s extremely important for the city of Manchester to have the Storm back in the AO Arena. It’s a memory-maker,” the 28-year-old continued.
“I’ve come across many people over the years and the first thing they say to me is, ‘I used to watch Manchester Storm in the AO Arena.’ So although they were only there for a few years, they had a lasting effect on a lot of people in the area.
“That’s something we can tap into and build on, and hopefully have a lot of success with in the future. It’s had an amazing impact on me, and I can’t wait to be part of what we have going here in Manchester. It’s going to be an unbelievable time.”
Behind the scenes, getting the event to this point has taken a huge amount of work. General Manager Ryan Finnerty, who moved upstairs in 2022 after previously coaching the Storm, admits the scale of the challenge has matched the excitement around it.
“I think our nervousness probably matches our excitement,” said the 45-year-old, from Alberta, Ontario. “We perhaps underestimated just how much work goes into turning the AO Arena into a professional ice rink in such a short space of time. The amount of work going on behind the scenes has been incredible.
“We’ve been blessed with an incredible team to work with at the AO Arena. Dave Wilson at Dizzyfish has been coming down from Scotland every other day, Mark Johnson has been getting the ice and boards sorted, James Ogden at G&O Refrigeration, our own staff have put in an unbelievable amount of work, and we’ve had an excellent team from the Arena to work with. The list is endless. It’s been an incredible effort just to get us to Sunday.”
With the finish line now in sight, Finnerty says the club is still working right up to game time to make the occasion as strong as possible for supporters.
“When you look at all the blood, sweat and tears that have gone into getting there, hopefully it’s all going to be worth it,” he explained.
“We want to stay level-headed because we haven’t had a long preparation time. It would have been nice to be ready to go a week ago, but the reality is that we’ll probably be pushing right up until game time to make sure everything is ready.
“It won’t be perfect, but you have to start somewhere. We’ll iron out the kinks and go from there. As long as it’s a good journey and experience for the fans, I think they’ll appreciate it. Ironically, after everything that has gone into this, it’ll be quite nice to get back to the season afterwards!”
The crowd is expected to underline just how significant the occasion is, with Finnerty anticipating around 9,500 to 10,000 people. More than 9,512 would be the biggest attendance recorded by two Motorpoint Elite League teams, though the Motorpoint Elite League record remains with Sheffield for competitive games.
For the former Storm coach, the return to the AO Arena also reflects the character of both the club and the city. “The Storm represent the people of Manchester: that never-say-die attitude and relentlessness,” Finnerty commented.
“This club was gone. When it went to Altrincham, it could have failed, so to now be doing something of this magnitude and bringing it back is incredible.
“We’ve had the support of our fans and our ownership to make this happen. Once the opportunity was presented to us, we ran with it. It’s incredible, nerve-wracking and scary at the same time, but that’s like everything in life.”
Sunday may be the culmination of years of work, but Finnerty sees it as the start of something bigger rather than the end point.
“We’re ready to take this to the next level. First, we have to get over Everest this weekend with the game, and then the next mountain is bringing Manchester back to being a trophy-winning team.
“It’s also great for the Motorpoint Elite League that another big venue is now an option. We’re trailblazers with that, and there are a lot of things we’ve learned from the process that we can pass on to the next team that wants to do something similar.
“We’d be more than happy to help whoever that is. It’s great for hockey, it’s great for our city, and we want to help continue to grow the sport.”
Photo: Manchester Storm
