St. John's council shrugs as N.B. hockey team stays put

No tears were shed Monday night at St. John's City Hall as councillors all but rolled their eyes over news that a New Brunswick hockey team would not be relocating to the stadium next door.

On Saturday, council approved a package that would relocate the Acadie-Bathurst Titan to Mile One Centre in St. John's.

But on Monday, owner Leo-Guy Morrissette announced he would sell the team to his son and daughter, and that the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League team will be staying putting in Bathurst.

Hockey fans in St. John's were looking forward to the return of organized games. Mile One had been home to the Fog Devils, which had played in the QMJHL for four seasons until the team was sold to a new owner in Quebec last year.

Coun. Keith Coombs, who had dealt extensively with Mile One during the Fog Devils period, said he was not surprised by Monday's turn of events.

"When dealing with the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League, I can say with all honesty, you know, expect anything," said Coombs, who sat on the board of St. John's Sports and Entertainment, which manages Mile One and a nearby convention centre.

Coombs said the board and council have an obligation to put taxpayers first.

"I think it's incumbent upon us and I think we did it this time to get the best deal not for the 2,500 or 3,000 … season ticket holders, but for the hundred and some odd thousand people who live in this city," Coombs said.

Mayor Dennis O'Keefe, who announced what he thought was a tentative deal on Saturday, said the experience has not soured council from finding a hockey team for the city. However, he said it's unlikely a new deal will be reached soon.

Deputy Mayor Ron Ellsworth said a lesson to be learned is for council to remain mum until a deal is finalized.

Coun. Art Puddister said he believes process was a worthwhile experience.

"We now have a template whereby we can send off to any Quebec Major Junior [team] and say, 'Look, this is what we feel will work for both sides. We've gone through the exercise and here are the numbers,' " Puddister said.

Mile One opened in 2001 with the St. John's Maple Leafs, then the American Hockey League farm team of the Toronto Maple Leafs, as its tenant. The Leafs pulled the team, though, at the end of the 2005 season, forcing council to subsidize St. John's Sports and Entertainment with millions of dollars over the years.