Cornwall 'absolutely' ready to welcome OHL back, says mayor

The mayor of Cornwall, Ont., says he's "absolutely" ready to welcome back the Ontario Hockey League should they choose the eastern Ontario city for an expansion team.

The city hasn't had an OHL club since 1992, when the Cornwall Royals moved to Newmarket, Ont., and then became the Sarnia Sting two years later.

While the 20-team league has seen numerous teams relocate over the past two-plus decades, it hasn't added an expansion franchise since 1998.

That could change, however, as this fall officials indicated they were preparing to grow the league. 

"We're excited the OHL has announced an expansion," Cornwall Mayor Justin Towndale told Radio-Canada earlier this month. "We want to be considered for that," he said. 

Towndale said the city had reached out to teams like the Hamilton Bulldogs and the Mississauga IceDogs that were looking for new homes, but those efforts didn't work out.

'It'll cost an awful lot of money'

Before leaving town, the Cornwall Royals won the Memorial Cup three times and produced several future National Hockey League stars.

There's been a group in Cornwall working behind the scenes to generate interest in a new team, said Thom Racine, a sports historian and former longtime Royals radio analyst.

The group has built a new website on the history of the Royals and designed a souvenir hockey puck with the Royals logo, Racine said.

Still, he's skeptical that a new team will happen, calling it a "tough sell."

"It'll cost an awful lot of money. OHL major junior franchises are not cheap," he said.

The Ed Lumley Arena, originally built in the 1970s, will likely need a major renovation as the facility lacks skyboxes, Racine said.

The city would need to be able to get "3,500 to 4,000 bums in those seats each and every game," he added.

"You have to have that marriage between the business community, the fans and the city to actually make it work."

Another obstacle, Racine said, is the decades-long absence of the team, which would make reviving the Royals name even harder now.

"The generations that watched the Royals in the 60s and 70s are dying off, and the ones that are around can only tell their grandchildren how great it was," he said.

'We're here, we're ready'

Towndale cited the investments the city has put into the Ed Lumley Arena as evidence that Cornwall is ready for a new OHL team.

The facility has had its seats replaced and a new scoreboard installed, Towndale said, and the lighting system will soon be updated.

Earlier this month, the arena also hosted training camps for Finland and Slovakia, two teams that are competing in the World Juniors in Ottawa. 

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"We want to keep showing that we're here, we're ready, we can host this calibre of game," Towndale said. "And that's why we also keep making investments in this building — to make sure that's ready to go when we can get that new tenant.

"We're getting closer and closer to having a team back every day."