The City of St. John’s refuses to take the blame for the loss of the Newfoundland Growlers.
The team ceased operations on Tuesday after it was unable to meet a deadline imposed by the ECHL’s board of governors for a sale to a new owner.
A sale had been in the works for months but hit a snag in January that couldn’t be rectified by the deadline.
But the president of Deacon Sports and Entertainment, which owned the Growlers, says problems for the team pre-date the failed sale.
Dean MacDonald said this week a big obstacle was the inability to manage Mary Brown’s Centre the way they wanted on game nights and for other events.
However, St. John’s councillor Ron Ellsworth, the city’s rep with St. John’s Sports and Entertainment, which runs the arena, takes issue with that, saying it’s no secret why the team folded.
“The issue around why the East Coast Hockey League removed them from the league is an issue between Deacon, the league and outstanding debts, and that’s the only reason the Growlers are not here today,” Ellsworth told reporters on Thursday.
As for managing the Mary Brown’s Centre, he says Deacon Sports tried that in Trois Rivieres, Quebec, where they had another team, the Lions.
Deacon was forced to sell that team as well after accumulating over a $1 million in outstanding debt related to the rink there.
“That didn’t work very well in Trois-Rivieres, right?” said Ellsworth, adding the City of St. John’s is not saddled with that issue.
