At Wrestlemania 18 in Toronto a dream match was made between The Rock and Hollywood Hulk Hogan . It was Hogan, the star of the 80's and 90's vs The Rock, start of the late 90's and early 00's and before he became a huge mega movie star. People said that day that they never heard the SkyDome (Now Rogers Centre) so loud as they basked in the glory of the two greats, in particular Hogan as he had just returned to WWE after a stint in rival WCW. The WWE decided that they needed to capitalize on that buzz and give the Hulkster his world title back and start having him defend the title regularly. So he bested HHH for the title and the rest was history right? Well, wrong. Hulk was 48 years old and his good years were behind him. People loved the nostalgic pop of seeing an icon from the past but they really didn't want see him drag his tired, somewhat broken 48 year old leathery body around regularly. The nostalgia faded away and so did Hogan as he was gone by the Fall of 2002, returning only sporadically since. The point is nostalgia can draw a reaction and get people reminiscing about the good old days. Is the OHL facing a similar reaction with a small groundswell of support for the return of the Cornwall Royals? And will the Royals just be like Hulk Hogan- great for the nostalgia, but the reality a completely different beast altogether? Let's examine.
Cornwall's history in junior hockey spans both the QMJHL (1969-1981) and the OHL (1981-1992). When they were in the Q the team was a resounding success, winning the Memorial Cup in 1972, 1980, and 1981. The move to the OHL proved less successful reaching the 3rd round only once and the 2nd round three times. The team moved to Newmarket and then Sarnia after 1992 . Crowds hovered around the 2500 mark for much of their QMJHL tenure, but there are not many attendance figures for the OHL stretch but it might be safe to assume that the numbers weren't great, given that the OHL pulled up stakes out of Cornwall. For three years after an AHL team resided in Cornwall called the Aces. They were the affiliate for the Quebec Nordiques, and when the Nordiques left, that pretty much sealed the fate for Cornwall. The lasted one year as the Colorado Avalanche affiliate before ending their tenure. Attendance figures for those three years ranged between 2200 and 2500. Since then the constant has been the Cornwall Colts of the CCHL, though they've had an FHL (Federal Hockey League) franchise and an LNAH (League Nord du Americain) one too. Only the Colts are still in existence and they play at the main arena in town, the Ed Lumley Arena and it seats 5800 and has four private boxes.
When you look at the infrastructure of what Cornwall can bring to the OHL, the condition of the arena is topmost. As was stated above the capacity is listed at 5800 which is more than enough as many OHL arenas are in the 5000 range, except for London and Hamilton which are much larger. Hamilton is getting moved out of their arena for refurbishing and Cornwall is mentioned as a possible temporary destination. According to what I've read on sites such as "Roaming the Rinks " (roamingtherinks.com ) and "The OHL Arena Guide" (ohlarenaguide.com) there were upgrades done in 2008 when Cornwall hosted the RBC Cup and the arena has had such acts as Blue Rodeo, Alice Cooper and Nickelback. The jury is out on whether having Nickelback as a headliner is a good or bad thing. Other considerations for OHL tenancy are hotel availability, schools, billet families and whether or not there is enough corporate support. The OHL as a business has changed a lot since the early 90's. Arenas are mostly new, corporate support is robust and the relationship with the city is paramount.
According to a 2016 census the population of Cornwall was 46,589 with almost 67 000 in the surrounding areas for a total population over 113000. The actual population of Cornwall would put above only Owen Sound (32,712) in terms of population unless they can draw in the surrounding areas. They'll need a heavy marketing campaign, similar to that of Niagara to make it the region's team as opposed to the city's team. Ironically the Owen Sound Arena is called the Harry Lumley Bayshore Arena, though there is no known relationship between the two.
There are many unknowns when it comes to Cornwall. When the topic was broached by me on Twitter, the small number of reactions were mixed, with some stating it was the ideal location with Ottawa (103km) and Kingston (182km) relatively close, and there might be a gateway relationship extending to the Q where only Ottawa and Hull play the occasional game. However beyond Ottawa and Kingston, the bus miles start to pile up. Others cited the limited corporate imprint, the population and subpar attendance the last time the OHL was in Cornwall and the need for arena upgrades. Niagara, however, has proven to be resounding success in its return to the OHL so failure and less than stellar arena supports before do not necessarily translate into failure today. There are, admittedly, a number of unknowns.
The list of viable OHL destination cities is not long. Chatham, Brantford, Buffalo and even a return to Belleville have all received passing interest and none of those has what Cornwall potentially offers. Can Cornwall succeed? All the above seems to indicate it is not impossible, but surely will be a challenge. Lots of money has to be spent to spruce up both the arena and city for long term solutions. A temporary Hamilton residency might be a good testing ground to determine interest going forward. Will it get the nostalgia pop and fizzle like Hulk Hogan or it will prove to have staying power. One thing is sure , if they wear these sweet uniforms, forget everything I said, lets bring the OHL back to Cornwall!
Steve Clark
Steve has called games on TV in Niagara since its inception in 2007.
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