Another American city has emerged as a candidate for OHL expansion.
Niagara Falls, N.Y., Mayor Robert Restaino told WIVB News 4 Buffalo on Friday that he spoke with OHL commissioner Bryan Crawford last week about the possibility of the league having a team in the border city.
However, a land dispute between the city and a development company is preventing Niagara Falls from trying to get started on building a 5,000-6,000-seat arena near a casino, Restaino said.
WIVB reports the land was supposed to have been deeded in a 2003 deal with a former mayor to Niagara Falls Redevelopment, LLC, a private company.
Restaino said his meeting with Crawford was positive.
“To have the commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League openly suggest the delivery of a conditional franchise was actually somewhat surprising because I didn’t realize it had gotten that much traction.”
Crawford confirmed the league’s interest in Niagara Falls in a statement to WIVB.
“With the appropriate facility in place, Niagara Falls, New York would offer an intriguing centre for the OHL both in terms of community support and geographical proximity. We look forward to better understanding what kind of opportunities there might be for the OHL in the region,” he said.
Sportsnet reported in November that the OHL had green-lighted an aggressive expansion plan.
USA Hockey denied permission for the USHL’s Youngstown Phantoms and Muskegon Lumberjacks to join the OHL, Sportsnet reported in December. This week, famed sports litigator Jeffrey Kessler of Winston & Strawn confirmed to Sportico’s Michael McCann and Scott Soshnick that he has been retained by the Youngstown Phantoms and another team from the USHL.
Three of the OHL’s 20 teams are based in the U.S. — Michigan’s Saginaw Spirit and Flint Firebirds and Pennsylvania’s Erie Otters.
Niagara Falls, about a half-hour drive from Buffalo, would provide a natural rival for the St. Catharines, Ont.-based Niagara IceDogs.
Niagara Falls, Ont., had an OHL team, the Thunder, from 1988-96. That franchise then relocated to Erie.
