Post by GoVoysGo on Apr 15, 2017 11:01:34 GMT -5
Bangkok Behemoths To Put Finishing Touches On New Arena Deal
TFHN - Matt Harkin, April 15
Vaughan, ON • Just two days after co-expansion team Cambridge Castrators agree to a renovate-and-lease deal, the Bangkok Behemoths are set to build their own.
Sources have confirmed that owner Tory Dick has signed off on a deal with the city of Bangkok to build a new arena. It is confirmed that the new arena will be sponsored by Canadian recording artist Aubrey "Drake" Graham and his Toronto-based label, OVO Sound. In return for his contributions, Drake has been given full naming rights to the building, and while nothing has been confirmed, sources claim he has already settled on the name OVO Dome.
TFHN reached out to both Dick and Castrators owner Derek Ford, as well as Drake and YGFHL Deputy Commissioner Dan Ronel, but all four declined to comment at this time.
Ronel did, however, confirm in a press release this morning that he has struck a deal with the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM) to build a new arena in Bedford, NS (one of the four adjoining towns that make up the HRM). His Halifax Voyageurs played last year in the Scotiabank Centre on a one-year lease, but Ronel was very clear at the start that his long-term plan was to own the building that housed the Voys. The new arena will be called VIA Rail Stadium as part of a three-way deal with his father Yoav Ronel, who has yet to announce the nature of his partnership with VIA.
The megalomaniacal owner has also stated that he wished to push further expansion into the league, involving Atlantic Canada. On the subject, he said, "I think these people are starved for hockey. I finally brought them that, and I brought them playoff hockey at that. But, it simply isn't enough! The Maritimes are the backbone of our country, and hockey is the feed that grows the country. Two of the best players in the world hail from Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia, and I think you know who they are. This geographical area is one that our rivals [real hockey league NHL] have neglected, but I assure you that [the YGFHL] will continue to pick up the slack! To [YGFHL President Adam] Stier and the rest of the league, let's make this happen!"
Ronel, of course, was referring to forwards Sidney Crosby and Nathan MacKinnon, two stars who grew up together in the community of Cole Harbour, putting the little town on the map. Now, it is highly unlikely the league expands again in the foreseeable future, considering how long it took Ronel to push the first expansion through the league as well as how recently the first expansion happened (the two new teams haven't even played yet). That being said, it is interesting to see how Stier and the owners react.
More to come as the story develops.