By Dylan O’Hagan [1]
BELLEVILLE – The Belleville Bulls [2] being sold is leaving economic uncertainty in Belleville and a city well known for hockey searching for a new identity.
The Chief Executive Officer of Belleville’s Chamber of Commerce Bill Saunders said, the city has been most known for its Ontario Hockey League hockey team the Belleville Bulls. The team leaving will affect Belleville in three different ways, he said.
“One is the obvious direct financial impact which is ticket sales, payment to staff, the rental to the city of the building, all those direct ones. Another group of economic impacts fall under the category of direct offshoots. So people come to town, they participate in events in the city, restaurants, some perhaps may stay the night and use the hotels… The third category is the one that is just so difficult to quantify because it is the recognition that the Bulls bring to the city. Belleville is known quite frankly in many parts of the world by the Belleville Bulls and the players that play there. So it is hard to put a dollar sign that,” Saunders said.
The team was sold March 12 by majority owner Gord Simmonds. The new owner of the Bulls is Michael Andauer, the previous owner of the American Hockey League [3] team the Hamilton Bulldogs [4]. The Bulls joined the OHL in 1981 but were established in the community even before then.
The biggest issue surrounding the Bulls leading to the purchase was the Yardmen Arena. The arena holds the smallest capacity of any team in the OHL and has an Olympic size ice surface, bigger than OHL regular standards. The Bulls released a statement the day of the purchase, suggesting the team staying in the Yardmen Arena was not feasible.
“The expiration of the arena lease at the end of this season teamed with no commitment to a broadly supported improvement plan puts our ownership and the OHL in an untenable position,” the statement reads.
Bulls fans took the news hard, according to Belleville native and Bulls assistant coach Jason Supryka. He said many fans have come up to him expressing their thoughts on the team’s departure.
“I would say probably the first three or four days post-announcement, it very much felt like it was a situation of mourning, to be honest with you. The mood was a little bit more sad. Not that they’ve overcome that… I think they’ve become more personal in the way that they ask their questions, really wanting to know what your plans are moving forward. A lot of people will go through the same kinds of questions and conversations next September when they really are faced with a void of not having a team to watch,” Supryka said.
The Bulls are part of the strong hockey culture in the area and helped put Belleville on the map in the past said Mark Fluhrer, the Director of recreation, culture and community services in Belleville. He said he knows the challenges the city faces in the future and that the loss of the team means much more to the city than dollar amounts.
“The Belleville Bulls means a lot more to the city of Belleville than either breaking even, or not breaking even because the loss is far greater than that… We’re looking at a situation where we’re once known as an entity in our city and our region. The Belleville Bulls is a well-known brand. We’ve had lots of exposure internationally as a result of the Belleville Bulls… . That is something the city will definitely have to look at in terms of next steps,” he said
The departure of the Bulls leaves an opening for something else to replace it as the face of Belleville. Executive director of Quinte Arts Council [5] said hockey is not the only identity of Belleville, arts and culture also has its own separate identity.
“I grew up here. Belleville has always been known as a hockey town because of the Bulls. But the Bulls are not the only game in town. There were a big draw, but they are not the only draw. I don’t believe they are the only attraction to the city…. Events like DocFest [6], PorchFest [7], and our arts events … are a draw to the city. It really doesn’t have anything to do with the Bulls because there are audiences that look forward to these events every year – not just from this community but outside the community… So arts and culture have their own identity and certain events and festivals have their own identities,” said Feeney.
Saunders said the team leaving could also affect businesses in town. There are different kinds of businesses that will be affected by the Bulls being sold.
“We know there are groups of folks that go to a local sports bar either before or after the game. That’s twice a week during the hockey season so we know that will have a direct impact on them. I believe there’s a contract the vendor has at the Bulls, like the snack bars, that businesses will also lose dramatically,” Saunders said.
Feeney added, that the impact of the Bulls leaving does not stop at businesses, art groups and charitable organizations could also feel the loss of Bulls. If businesses see less revenue, this may also mean less charitable donations, she said.
“If that kind of revenue (from the Belleville Bulls) decreases, that will have an impact on everyone, business is just one example … We as art and charity groups rely on businesses to provide us with charitable donations and support for sponsorships. Well, if they have less money, then of course there will be an impact,” Feeney said.