Anthony LeBlanc says he still wants to bring professional hockey back to Thunder Bay.
LeBlanc, a partner in Renaissance Sports and Entertainment, the Canadian group vying to purchase the NHL’s soon-to-be-renamed Arizona Coyotes, said he hasn’t wavered on the idea, despite the ups and downs of trying to purchase the Coyotes.
“Keith McCullough and I have always said we have a desire to bring a top tier hockey franchise to the city; that desire has not changed,” LeBlanc said, reached by email while en route from Arizona.
LeBlanc added the City of Thunder Bay, which last week announced it was seeking expressions of interest for partners and possible anchor tenants, has contacted him to gauge his interest in the facility, expected to cost $106.1 million.
“I did receive an information packet regarding a request for expressions of interest from the city in the past couple of weeks, which is certainly encouraging,” he said, asked how closely he’s been following the process.
Thunder Bay has been without a professional team since the demise of the United Hockey League’s Thunder Bay Thunder Cats, which departed the city after the 1998-99 season.
The Lakehead Thunderwolves, the main hockey tenant at the six-decade-old Fort William Gardens, have also expressed interest in becoming the main tenant at a new event centre, should the city go ahead with the project.
For now LeBlanc plans to focus on completing the Coyotes deal
The NHL’s board of governors still has to approve the Coyotes deal, which was made possible Tuesday night after Glendale, Ariz. city council voted 4-3 in favour of a new lease deal at Jobing.com Arena, which will see the city pay the owners $15 million a year to manage the facility.
It also comes with an out clause, which would allow the team to bolt for greener pastures after five years, should losses total $50 million or more. The team would cover Glendale’s budgeted losses, up to $30 million, should the team opt out at that point in time.
“The city was concerned, as all cities are, with the state of their finances. They needed to make the decision they felt best served those financial requirements. We are thrilled that the majority of council supported our proposal,” he said.
LeBlanc, who splits his time between Thunder Bay, Ottawa and Arizona, says he’s confident the NHL can thrive in the desert.
“The new collective bargaining agreement makes competing much more realistic for small market and non-traditional market teams. The Coyotes have actually seen attendance increase year over year over the past few years to the point that we fully expect our projections will be easily achieved,” LeBlanc said.
They wouldn’t be doing this if they didn’t think it could work, he added, calling it surreal to think how close he is to actually being an NHL owner.
“We have spent months putting together a comprehensive turnaround business plan. We know it will not happen overnight, however we feel confident that within the next few years the Coyotes will not only be a success on the ice, but will be a successful financially as well.”
