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Anthony LeBlanc says if the city commits to build a new arena within the next 12 months, he and his Ice Edge Holding partners plan to buy an expansion ECHL franchise for Thunder Bay.
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FILE -- Anthony LeBlanc of Ice Edge Holding. (Submitted photo)
Anthony LeBlanc says if the city commits to build a new arena within the next 12 months, he and his Ice Edge Holding partners plan to buy an expansion ECHL franchise for Thunder Bay.

LeBlanc, in the midst of a year-long attempt to buy the NHL’s struggling Phoenix Coyotes, said he’s already had preliminary talks with ECHL commissioner Brian McKenna and that reaction to a new team in Thunder Bay was positive.

"I’d say it went pretty well, because we’re moving to the next step which would be setting up a meeting for the commissioner of the league to come to Thunder Bay sometime in the August timeframe," LeBlanc said on Thursday in an exclusive interview with Dougall Media.

The 20-team ECHL, formerly known as the East Coast Hockey League, markets itself as the Premier AA Hockey League, and boasts affiliations with 25 of the 30 NHL teams. Over the years the league has produced dozens of NHLers, including the likes of Manny Legace, Francois Beauchemin and Martin Biron, as well as local products Tom Pyatt and Alex Auld.

ECHL commissioner Barry McKenna confirmed that preliminary talks have been held and a meeting with LeBlanc and his partners in Thunder Bay will likely happen later this year.

"We have had discussions, and there appears there to be interest, so from the ECHL’s point of view we certainly are willing to explore it further."

While McKenna wouldn’t comment on expansion fees, he did say the usual minimum requirement for an expansion team is a 6,000-seat facility. And according to the Naples (Fla.) News, a Chicago-area expansion team slated to start play at a 9,400-seat facility in Hoffman, Ill. in 2011-12 has been asked to secure US$250,000 in promotions and sponsorships and at least 1,000 season ticket holders before their first game is played.

McKenna said while Thunder Bay is a little on the small size compared to its usual markets, which include cities the size of Las Vegas, being north of the border has its advantages.

"Given that it’s a Canadian market, our experience has been that in places like Victoria, where we do have a team, and in several of our teams in the northern half of the United States, that a smaller population that has a pre-disposition to hockey will work in a smaller market," McKenna said, "whereas in the south you typically need a population of 300,000 to 400,000."

The City of Thunder Bay has entered the second phase of looking into the feasibility of building a new arena, and a second report on the matter is expected later this year. The city also held a pair of open houses earlier this spring to gauge public acceptance of the plan, which would pay for the rink using a combination of municipal, provincial and federal dollars and is estimated to cost in the $60-million range.

LeBlanc and McCullough, who plan to pay for the team out of their own pockets, would also need approval as owners from the ECHL’s board of governors, as well as approval of the market.

"My understanding is the executive committee of the ECHL has been given a primary, very tertiary overview of our interests and intention and it was met with a fairly positive response," LeBlanc said, saying he plans to sell the city to the league as a hockey-crazed community and what he termed the highest-per-capita number of NHLers of any city in Canada.

"And the success that we’ve seen of the Lakehead University hockey program is indicative of the ability for a professional franchise to be successful," he added.

Lakehead officials have in the past stated that the likelihood of them continuing to operate a university team competing alongside a professional team is slim to none, and have lobbied the city to make them the No. 1 tenant of a new arena facility.

LeBlanc, who has also looked at American Hockey League and Ontario Hockey League teams for Thunder Bay in the past, said it would be a minimum of at least two years before they’d be ready to put a team on the ice.






Leith Dunick

About the Author: Leith Dunick

A proud Nova Scotian who has called Thunder Bay home since 2002, Leith is Dougall Media's director of news, but still likes to tell your stories too. Wants his Expos back and to see Neil Young at least one more time. Twitter: @LeithDunick
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