Why we need new rinks

The Québec Major Junior Hockey League put the ball in the government’s court on Wednesday and is now hoping the government will reward its economic influence by building some new rinks.

The league released the findings of a study outlining its economic and social impact in the communities it operates. Their findings revealed that over the next five years, the league will generate benefits of $1.15 billion with the use of $595 million earmarked for the construction of new arenas for some of its teams.

The Gatineau Olympiques, Drummondville Voltigeurs and Moncton Wildcats were the three teams mentioned as candidates for new arenas. The league hopes the study will prove its economic impact on those and other communities, thus bringing new facilities for all three teams. The arenas could also host other attractions, which would generate more revenue for each community.

It is, in a nutshell, a wise move by the QMJHL. Although commissioner Gilles Courteau often said during Wednesday’s press conference that the study was for the government’s benefit primarily, it’s hard to conceive the league won’t use those findings to press the government to reward those hockey communities with the revenue generated by building new, state-of-the-art facilities.

"We are very happy with the result," Courteau said. "Our goal is to position ourselves about what we’re doing within each and every community where we operate a major junior franchise and what we generate as new employees for each and every city in total."

Far be it for this journalist to put his economic hat on, but if the league is able to generate more than a billion dollars in profit through its 17 markets in Québec and the Maritimes, why shouldn’t the government ante up and use some of those earnings to bring new rinks to the communities that desperately need them? As Courteau indicates, it’s not entirely self-serving for the teams themselves.

"Not only for the activities of a Québec Major Junior Hockey League team, but for any other major activities that the city or region want to have, they need a building where they will be able to generate those activities," Courteau said.

Also on the agenda was a new facility in the south shore of Montreal. Courteau wouldn’t talk about which franchise such an arena could house, only saying that the league doesn’t plan on expanding beyond 18 teams. Sherbrooke will add an expansion team next season, returning the total to 18 after the Lewiston Maineiacs folded last summer.

The value of a new arena to its community can never be understated. Examples are everywhere: the Windsor Spitfires obtained a new rink in 2008 and have hosted many events, both hockey and otherwise, including this December’s under-17 tournament; the Western Hockey League finally returned to Victoria after 17 years with the help of a new facility this season.

The best example is in Shawinigan. The Cataractes, one of the QMJHL’s few remaining original teams, will host the MasterCard Memorial Cup this May. Doing so could only be done with the new Centre Bionest, a far cry from the Cataractes’ old home, the Aréna Jacques-Plante.

Shortly after the Cataractes won the bid to host the tournament, I met with general manager Martin Mondou in his office at the rink. The GM beamed not only at what his new facility meant for his team and city, but what it could mean for others in the province.

"It’s such a great message to all the Québec teams and Québec cities because you know the arenas in Québec are really bad in terms of condition and Québec doesn’t invest much money in the arena infrastructure," Mondou said in mid-April. "What Shawinigan did to go and build the rink to save the team, save the franchise, to bring new people in -- it was a great message. I think the (Memorial Cup hosting) committee came in and said, ‘That’s a nice rink for Québec.’ "

It is a nice rink for Québec, and that’s the point. Shawinigan’s close rivals in Victoriaville and Drummondville are operating in arenas decades older. Victoriaville recently renovated its arena, while the Voltigeurs are left with no other viable option than to build anew.

Old-school arenas like the ones found in Drummondville and Gatineau have wonderful atmospheres, some of the best you’ll find in any of the 59 markets in the Canadian Hockey League. But these dinosaurs are long past extinction.

Many of the markets in Québec haven’t been able to make it work over the years. Small markets and even smaller arenas are two aspects that become nearly impossible to overcome in the evolving world of junior hockey.

The league should be commended for the findings in this study. The economic and social impacts revealed are impressive. Maybe now these teams can finally get the rinks they so desperately deserve.