Rebel yell unlikely in London
By MORRIS DALLA COSTA -- London Free Press
It was a nice feeling while it lasted.
Imagine London being the home of a National Lacrosse League team, a high-energy, fast-moving, rock-and-roll team that might have been a nice fit for the John Labatt Centre.
Rumours had the Ottawa Rebel of the NLL relocating to London. In fact, NLL commissioner Jim Jennings said Rebel owner Brad Watters of Toronto will either move the team to London or allow it to become dormant.
It seems the Rebel are in for a snooze.
Watters is part of the Rebel's three-person ownership group. One of the other owners is Randy Gillies, formerly of Appin. Gillies won't say a move to London is dead but it may be on life support.
"I think it's a lot of speculation right now. I don't think the likelihood is too great at this time (that the Rebel will come to London)."
The Rebel struggled to draw crowds. They began play at the Corel Centre and wound up playing at the Civic Centre, which has a capacity around 10,000. The JLC seats about 9,100 for hockey.
But one of the bigger stumbling blocks to a Rebel move to London is not arena size as much as a tight time frame for any type of deal to get done.
"There are discussions," Gillies said. "But in light of the fact the timelines are such that you have to make some very, very hard decisions within the next couple of days and in consideration of the fact we haven't really got the level of detail we need to see this happen, it probably won't."
That's truly disappointing. The NLL game could be successful here. The schedule doesn't represent a huge commitment, something sports fans in this city are receptive to. There would be about eight home games a year, not including playoffs or exhibitions. Considering the London Knights of the Ontario Hockey League averaged 7,500 a game last year, a sport that attracts young fans like the NLL should be a pretty good sell.
The NLL has found success in major centres like Toronto and Philadelphia. A relocated franchise in Denver draws crowds of more than 19,000.
But there is an argument to be made for smaller centres as well. Rochester has been one of the strongest NLL franchises and the core population of that city is about 220,000.
Jennings has termed Rochester the NLL's Green Bay Packers. The Packers have been one of the highest-profile, most successful National Football League franchises. They were established in 1919, operate in a city with a population of about 100,000 and are community-owned.
Still, it would take great courage for the NLL and team ownership to move a franchise into an unknown market without having a better feel about whether the team will be successful or not. Even moving an established team costs a lot of money.
And while the team is owned by individuals, the league has a hand in the decision-making process. Even given more time for all the necessary details to be worked out and research to be done, there's no guarantee the league would move a team to London anyway.
Unless things change over the next few days, it won't happen with the Rebel.
"It's possible we'd look at London, but it's not just the decision of the ownership group," Gillies said. "It's also a league-based decision. The expansion committee determines where future expansion should and could go. Not just the ownership group.
"The team and league will make a decision within days. At this point in time, it's more an issue of running out of time."
Which means the franchise will be dormant.
So, it appears, is the immediate dream of bringing an NLL team to London.
