By Tim Ubels (Contributor) – Email
Print Edition: March 6, 2013
Are the Heat set to be snuffed out in Abbotsford? According to Don Laible of the Utica Observer-Dispatch, the answer is “yes.” Last Sunday, he reported that the Calgary Flames’ American Hockey League affiliate, the Abbotsford Heat, are set to pull up stakes at the Abbotsford Entertainment & Sports Centre and set up shop in the Utica Memorial Auditorium in New York next season.
Abbotsford is currently in the fourth year of a 10-year revenue sharing agreement with the Flames and Heat franchises, which guarantees the team’s owners annual revenue every season. However, the Heat have not been generating any profit, losing money the past four seasons while playing out of Abbotsford. In fact, the organization has sustained deficits of a combined $3.58 million since 2009.
With the Abbotsford taxpayers committed to subsidizing any monetary losses incurred by the franchise, the speculation is that the group interested in moving the franchise to Utica must be submitting a deal to the Flames that is equally or even more appealing than their present agreement with Abbotsford. It’s possible that this rumoured deal comes with the assurance of a healthier AHL market, as Utica fans have been without a minor league hockey team since 1993, when the New Jersey Devils moved their affiliate to Albany, and are potentially itching to get hockey back in upstate New York.
The blog report has since been removed from the Utica Observer-Dispatch’s website, and Flames management has denied reports about the relocation of the team to Utica, saying that they are currently committed to their relationship with the Abbotsford Heat. However, buzz continues to rouse the sports community in the Fraser Valley. The Flames AHL affiliate has a history of drifting from town to town ever since the franchise acquired its own minor league club back in 2005. Starting in Omaha back in 2005, the Flames affiliate moved to the Quad Cities in 2007 and made one final move to their current destination, Abbotsford, in 2009.
Despite the majority of sources now denying the rumoured move to New York, the logistics make sense for the Flames to be looking at a different location for their affiliate. Although currently located within a negligible distance of the big league club, the Heat consistently finish at the bottom of the league in terms of attendance, in spite of being located in a hockey-crazed community. In the four postseason games held at the AESC during the 2011-2012 season, the Heat drew an average crowd of 2389 in an arena that can hold up to 7046 fans. Although attendance has increased since the beginning of the lockout, the Heat still sit fifth from the bottom in league attendance. The only time Abbotsford locals fill the arena to capacity is when the Vancouver Canuck’s affiliate Chicago Wolves come to play, demonstrating a potential solution to Abbotsford’s attendance problems and the taxpayer’s financial nightmare: having the Vancouver Canucks affiliate in Abbotsford.
Currently in the final year of a two-year contract with the Chicago Wolves, the Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini, who currently doesn’t own a minor league affiliate, has long been rumoured to be interested in acquiring an Abbotsford-based team to act as the Canucks’ farm team. This move could potentially spark interest in a dormant fan base that has resented the affiliate of a division rival playing in the Canucks’ backyard. An Aquilini-owned franchise would let the Canucks keep a closer eye on their affiliate’s hockey operations and have access to quick call-ups, not unlike the situation in Toronto, where the Leafs play within walking distance of the Marlies.
As we approach the summer and the end of this shortened NHL season, Abbotsford taxpayers may see the dominos fall in a deal that would see the end of a disastrous financial arrangement between the Flames and the town of Abbotsford and the beginning of a profitable venture with a Canucks organization, whether the Heat end up in Utica or another city.
