After major concern that the ECHL's Newfoundland Growlers would have to relocate after just one season in the city of St. John's comes an announcement that a new lease agreement has been reached. It will keep the team in the city's Mile One Centre for the next 10 years.
The Growlers are the East Coast Hockey League affiliates of the Toronto Maple Leafs. They won the league championship last season; their inaugural year. Then the relationship with the city became rocky. In July, Growlers' owner Dean MacDonald said the team didn't turn a profit and accused the city of not taking seriously a proposal from the Growlers and St. John's Edge (a local basketball team) to run the arena and convention centre. In late August, MacDonald visited an arena under construction in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, telling the St. John's Telegram that the the organization had "had it" with lease negotiations, and that the City of St. John's "doesn't value the economic impact of the teams in addition to the entertainment value they bring."
"All of us in the Growlers organization are pleased and excited to have reached an Agreement in Principle for a historic ten-year lease with SJSEL and the City of St. John's,” Newfoundland Growlers owner Dean MacDonald said. “We are committed to providing the very best product, both on and off the ice, as we represent Newfoundland and Labrador in the ECHL. This is an exciting step in the right direction for professional sports in this province.”
Under the new agreement, the city of St. John's will increase its subsidy to Mile One Centre by an average of $229,000 over the 10-year lease. However, it can earn some back through sales at concession stands. The new agreement comes after a successful week-long visit from the Toronto Maple Leafs who held their 2019-20 training camp at the Paradise Double Ice Complex as well as Mile One Centre, culminating with a sold-out preseason game versus the Ottawa Senators.
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