Page 33 - Sports Energy News, Cornwall, Issue No 71

www.sportsenergynews.com Issue #71 October 2018 33

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Greater Cornwall & Areas Community Sports Newspaper

Sports Energy presents Sports Panel

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The Kingston Frontenacs and Ottawa 67s drew 1808 fans to an exhibition
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game held at the Ed Lumley Arena on Labour Day weekend.

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This was the first time an OHL event has been held in Cornwall
in 26 years. What do you think panel?
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Is Cornwall ready to support their own OHL team again?
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Gilles Gaudet - Sports Enthusiast - It seems like every few years this question comes up in some form or other,
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and we begin to navel gaze and dream of a higher calibre hockey team in Cornwall. Our best product at present, the
Cornwall Colts, drew an average of 859 customers last year. Over the last 10 years their attendance has ranged from
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675 to 1141 fans per game. So to be fair and generous we could say that there are about 1,000 dedicated hockey
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loyalists in Cornwall. Over the past few years the Nationals and River Kings attendance numbers would bear out
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the 1,000 number. Last year the average attendance in the OHL was 4,059 paying customers. This number included
an average attendance high of 8,959 in London, to a low of 2,385 in North Bay. Most of the 20 cities that represent
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the OHL have a much larger population than Cornwall, so we’d be at an immediate disadvantage in trying to fill
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the rink. When the Royals left in 1992 low attendance was an issue, and I don’t think that anything that’s happened
in the last 26 years has changed that fact. The truth is that we would need an owner with deeper than the Grand
Canyon pockets. It would require an owner willing to lose big dollars for a long time until we had a championship
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type team in place. With a great team in place, we might be able to average 1,500 a game. Those don’t look like
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OHL numbers to me. Compared to 26 years ago, the average sports fan has many more sports diversions to spend
their money on, and I’d be shocked if the OHL in Cornwall became one of those diversions.
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Jake Lapierre - Conditioning Coach -The OHL left Cornwall in 1992, and much similar to the current proceedings
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in Ottawa, with the NHL Senators, it had to do with support or lack of support. Royal’s fans were spoiled under the
ownership of Paul Emard. Coaches Orval Tessier, Doug Carpenter, and Bob Kilger guided our teams to three Memorial
Cups. I won’t even begin to mention the future NHL players from both the Royals and their opponents who entertained us
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in their teenage years. The OHL is big (expensive) business today. The Royals left because we (the fans) took the on-ice
product for granted. We didn’t like the owner, so we didn’t go to games. We didn’t like the fact the team switched from
the QMJHL to the OHL, so we didn’t go to games. We didn’t like the parking, the seats, and the stairs at the complex,
so we didn’t go to games. Will we like a new owner who may attempt a return to Cornwall? Will we embrace the OHL
style, and appreciate watching all the future NHL stars? Will we flock to the complex and ignore its flaws for a few hours

each week? Solid ownership, a huge commitment of corporate community support, and enough fans willing to shell out
$20.00 - $25.00 per ticket, and yes Cornwall could support an OHL team once again.

Jim Riddell - Seaway Karate Club - 1808 is a decent attendance for an exhibition game where there is no real
local attachment to either team. The North Bay Battalion had the lowest attendance in the OHL this past season,
averaging 2385 fans per game, a number Cornwall would probably need to achieve to make a team feasible.
Cornwall had great success previously in QMJHL (1969-81), winning three Memorial Cups in a 10 year span, a feat
that only one other team has accomplished in the 48 years that the CHL has been using the present format. From
1976-81, the Royals averaged close to 2400 per game, attracting fans from western Quebec as well as the local area.
With solid ownership, a strategic marketing plan, and a fair deal from the city it may be possible for an OHL team
to flourish in Cornwall.