Dean MacDonald says the success of any future sports franchise in St. John’s hinges on its ability to manage the Mary Brown’s Centre.
There was hockey heartbreak earlier this week when the Newfoundland Growlers ceased operations after a proposal to save the team was rejected by the ECHL.
MacDonald, president of Deacon Sports and Entertainment which owned the Growlers, says his relationship with the City of St. John’s was “horrible” when it came to operations at the rink.
He says for the first four years of the team’s existence it felt like the city was working against them rather than with them.
That was evident, according to MacDonald, when after the first year the city reneged on a condition to allow Deacon Sports to manage the arena for its games and other potential events.
“We probably should have just pulled the pin then because we knew that was kind of the secret sauce for teams and arenas all over North America,” he said. “You’ve got to be able to manage the facility to make it work.”
MacDonald says that’s a “necessary ask” for any future franchise with plans to operate out of Mary Brown’s Centre.
All that said, he wishes the current leadership team at St. John’s Sports and Entertainment the best of luck with its current challenges, speaking highly of Brent Meade, who was hired as the organization’s new CEO last fall.
With the Growlers out of the picture, the Newfoundland Rogues basketball team is now the sole anchor tenant for the Mary Brown’s Centre.
The owner of that team is calling on the community and businesses to support and rally around his team and any others that try to make a go of it.
Tony Kenny says it’s a sad time for professional sports in the province, adding the Growlers’ demise should be a wakeup call for everyone.
He notes there’s much more involved than just putting a team on the ice or the hard court, particularly when it comes to community partnerships, economic spinoffs and, of course, the fans, but especially the kids.
“For example, we will be going back to Sheshatshiu for the second time, and the kids light up when they see the players coming,” says Kenny. “How do you put a value on that?
“We are all about giving back to the community, but ultimately it is the fans, the corporate sponsors, the downtown business community, they have to decide — is this what they want?”
