OHL On Chatham-Kent Agenda…Again

What has become both a hot topic, and a heated topic for debate, Chatham-Kent’s council was again discussing the Ontario Hockey League (OHL) at Monday’s council meeting.

After rumours swirled last season about an OHL franchise possibly relocating to Chatham-Kent, and a report from a closed council meeting was leaked to the press, nothing materialized from talks.

This time however, council’s closed meeting had to do with the infrastructure relating to luring an OHL franchise to the community, namely, an OHL size arena.

Monday’s closed session meeting discussed a “possible property acquisition” related to an OHL size arena.

Chatham’s Memorial Arena has been a sticking point in the Municipality’s ongoing discussion of potential bids for OHL franchises. Team’s including the Erie Otters, Sarnia Sting, and Brampton Battalion have all been rumoured to have had their eyes on Chatham as a possible destination, however, in each case, either rumours proved to be wrong, or a deal fell through.

The current discussion arises almost one year exactly, to Council’s leak regarding negotiations with an OHL franchise in 2013.

The Chatham-Kent Sports Network will have any updates regarding the OHL and Chatham-Kent. Stay tuned.