As the possibility of relocation looms for the Ontario Hockey League’s Plymouth Whalers, one city may already be out of the running while a familiar one may still be a possibility.
Flint, Mich. was mentioned as a possible spot for the Whalers to relocate to, but that may be a memory now as the city is looking into acquiring a team in the American-based United States Hockey League.
IMS USA Inc., a Florida-based company has invested in Perani Arena, which currently houses the North American League’s Michigan Warriors, in Flint and the company has announced that they are in talks to bring a USHL team to the rink.
With Flint looking to be out of the running, Whalers owner Peter Karmanos told ESPN hockey reporter Craig Custance that the target for the Whalers relocation is a small Canadian city.
“Hopefully Chatham,” Karmnos told Custance.
Chatham being brought up as a potential new home for a current OHL team is nothing new.
In 2013, the Erie Otters were rumoured to be making the move to the southern Ontario market but those rumours were put to rest.
In March, Chatham city council had been having discussions regarding building a potential new arena in the city for a region that is home to over 100,000 people. Reports at the time had city council discussing a potential property acquisition for a new facility.
The Whalers currently play out of Compuware Sports in Plymouth but rumours began to swirl about a Whalers relocation after USA Hockey announced an agreement to purchase the arena from Karmanos.
With the sale in place, the plan is for USA Hockey to move its National Team Development Program to Plymouth from its current home in Ann Arbor, Mich.
The Whalers have struggled to draw fans in Plymouth, drawing an average of 2,478 fans in 34 regular season home games in 2013-14 leaving them second-last in the 20-team loop. Only the Belleville Bulls had a smaller average.
The Whalers have been in the bottom five of the league in average attendance throughout much of the past nine years. The team has not had an average attendance in Plymouth of more than 3,000 since the 2004-05 season.