FirstOntario Centre reno could keep Rock out of Hamilton home for two full seasons (Updated)
FirstOntario Centre, Hamilton, Ontario (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
This past Friday, the Toronto Rock were told they’d need to find a temporary home for one if not two full seasons due to upcoming renovations at the FirstOntario Centre in Hamilton, Ontario.
The Hamilton Spectator, who first reported on the confirmed closure this past weekend, spoke to the arena’s three team tenants, all of which were shocked to varying degrees by the lengthy shutdown.
In addition to the Rock, both the Ontario Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs & Canadian Elite Basketball League’s Hamilton Honey Badgers would also be displaced for as many as two seasons due to the arena’s massive makeover. The renovations are scheduled to start after the current NLL & OHL seasons, not impacting the Rock’s or Bulldog’s 2022/23 campaigns.
Dan Dawson, Toronto Rock, FirstOntario Centre (Photo: Ryan McCullough)
While all three FOC tenants were well aware renovations would be happening at some point, none were allegedly ever previously informed they would be happening so soon, or that the arena would be completely closed for such a significant stretch.
The Bulldogs are owned by long-time leader, Michael Andlauer, while the Badgers are operated by the CEBL itself. The basketball league is headed up by former Hamilton Tiger-Cats & Toronto Argonauts great, Mike Morreale, who is both CEBL co-founder & commissioner.
All three franchises were finally formally told this past Friday of the seemingly signed-off plans. Scott Radley of The Spec wrote:
Until now, both Andlauer and Morreale said, they’d been led to believe their teams would be able to continue playing on site through most of the construction, even if it meant delaying the start of their home schedules or ending early. They said they were blindsided by the new plan because they’d heard nothing from HUPEG, the Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group, the site’s renovator, for months.
However, in an emailed statement to The Spectator, HUPEG said Andlauer was twice notified during informal conversations at Bulldogs games during last spring’s OHL final. The statement cites what are claimed to be verbatim conversations between Andlauer and HUPEG partner Jasper Kujavsky to that effect.
The statement says Morreale was updated during an informal conversation in October.
Regarding the Rock, Radley continued:
The owner of the Toronto Rock also received the notification letter on Friday. Jamie Dawick said he wasn’t shocked — he knew a renovation was coming — but he hadn’t been kept in the loop any more than the others.
He said he’s trying to be positive and think about the finished product three years down the road. And since he doesn’t know all the details of the construction timeline, he hopes his team will only be displaced for one season, though there are questions if that’s possible.
Still, having to find a new home just a year after moving to Hamilton “sucks for me.”
“We didn’t think it was going to be to this extent by any means,” he said.
Last year was the Rock’s first season in FirstOntario, and although the pandemic posed a number of problems for the team - namely playing multiple games in an empty arena due to provincially mandated protocols during the pandemic - the lacrosse franchise still drew strong attendance numbers.
Toronto Rock vs. Georgia Swarm, FirstOntario Centre (Photo: Christian Bender)
The Rock, one of six teams in the NLL last year to average over 8,000 fans per game, easily bettered the Bulldogs & Badgers when it came to game-day attendance figures. Last year the Bulldogs averaged approximately 3,079 fans per home game, while the Honey Badgers garnered under 2,000 during their ten regular-season dates at the FOC.
On Sunday, Andlauer shared his sentiments through a letter with Bulldogs fans:
This weekend, I was as surprised as you are that the Bulldogs are going to be forced to leave our home at FirstOntario Centre for the upcoming two seasons. We had been told that the renovations would occur in a manner that would allow hockey to continue.
We 100% support the renovation to our arena, in fact, we have been calling for significant and necessary improvements for years. Our fans, community and sponsors deserve a facility that is as high quality as our two-time OHL Championship Bulldogs.
I had hoped, however, to have the opportunity to speak to you first with this shocking and unexpected news and come to you with a solution to the short-term location change. Unfortunately, other parties had different plans and chose to share the news prematurely.
Click here for the rest of what Andlauer wrote.
Earlier today, Don Mitchell of Global News reported:
Previously, a spokesperson with Hamilton Urban Precinct Entertainment Group (HUPEG) partner and director of the arena project told Global News in July the potential timeline for the start of development would be June or July of 2023 with the hope of reopening by the fall of 2024.
Recent additions to the design include a completely reimagined facade with a massive concourse on the ground floor stretching around the arena instead of the stairs now seen when entering the building.
Initially, the group planned on “staging” the project, allowing for some work in the summer with a pause in the fall to allow its clients, like the Hamilton Bulldogs and Toronto Rock, to finish their seasons.
While plans changed, it doesn’t appear formal communication with the building’s tenants kept up.
“So it was a scheduling issue and a staging issue that was largely affected by the scope of the project which is now becoming much more public,” HUPEG’s Kujavsky told 900 CHML’s Good Morning Hamilton this past summer. “It’s significantly larger than what was originally agreed to in the deal we signed with the city.”
The Rock, who have had signage throughout Hamilton’s downtown core over the past year and have been present at many community events over the last several weeks, spent this past Sunday at the FirstOntario Centre for their annual Media Day.
The closest arena anywhere near the FOC’s size (over 17,000 capacity for hockey & lacrosse) would be Toronto’s Scotiabank Arena (18,800), a facility the Rock spent most of their existence in prior to relocating to nearby Hamilton in May of 2021.
While the Rock do own a first-class training facility, the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, seating is limited on both of the building’s two turf pads. The TRAC has presently been hosting a number of NLL teams’ training camps & exhibition games, as well as serving as the everyday home of the Rock and other club-related businesses & partners.
Arenas that would come close to the 8,000 or more the Rock attract and are either within the Greater Toronto & Hamilton Area (Toronto, Hamilton, Halton, Peel, York and Durham) or somewhat nearby, would include (arena, city, hockey/lacrosse capacity):
Coco-Cola Coliseum, Toronto (7,851)
Paramount Fine Foods Centre, Mississauga (5,612)
Meridian Centre, St. Catharines (5,300)
Tribute Communities Centre, Oshawa (5,180)
CAA Centre, Brampton (5,000)
Sleeman Centre, Guelph (4,715)
Varsity Arena, Toronto (4,116)
The Rock’s season-opening game for their upcoming NLL campaign happens on Saturday, December 3 (5pm ET) against the Vancouver Warriors at the FOC. The all-Canadian contest will be featured nationally on television through TSN.
Updated (Monday, November 14, 3:35pm ET): The Rock later issued their own statement, confirming, “…the temporary relocation of Toronto Rock home games is something the club has been preparing for over the last several months. The club currently has proposals from several area venues in hand and is working diligently towards confirming a new temporary home in the very near future.” Monday’s press release further indicated, “The key for the Rock will be playing in a venue that is close enough to Hamilton that will allow the as much of its fan base as possible to travel to games with ease and continue to be a proud member of Rock City for the 2023-24 season.”
Updated (Wednesday, November 16, 12pm ET): PJ Mercanti, CEO of Carmen’s Group and president of the HUPEG, told 900 CHML’s Hamilton Today, “I’m prepared to acknowledge … that we should have done a better job … in communicating this to the teams and maintaining more frequent communications with them in a more formal way. So moving forward, we’re committed to engaging with those more frequent touch points.”