OHL commissioner pitching cities on expansion teams as league looks to grow
Global News
The commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League is pitching municipalities on expansion teams as the league looks to 'capitalize on opportunities for growth.'
The commissioner of the Ontario Hockey League is pitching municipalities on expansion teams as the league looks to “capitalize on opportunities for growth.”
Bryan Crawford, commissioner of the OHL, made a presentation to Chatham-Kent councillors on Monday, saying the league will commit to granting the area an expansion team if council commits to building an arena fit for one.
Crawford said the 20-team league, which is one of the major player development leagues in the world, set a new all-time attendance record last year, bringing more than 3.2 million fans to regular-season and playoff games.
While OHL teams have been relocated in recent years, the league hasn’t added an expansion team since 1998.
“We’re upwards of half-a-billion dollars in direct financial impact in our teams across the communities that we play in,” Crawford said.
“A massive economic driver that the OHL is, when people come downtown for the games and they come to the games, they go to the restaurants, they stay in the hotels; they do all those sorts of things that are associated with a major sport and entertainment complex.”
The OHL is eyeing expansion for several reasons, including a larger pool of players to choose from, given last year’s NCAA eligibility changes. Crawford said the league was able to add more than 120 players this season due to those changes, which translates to roughly four teams of new players.
That presents new opportunities for marketing, media and partnership opportunities, Crawford added.
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