Battalion fans cheer after a Battalion goal during the OHL finals last spring. PHOTO BY CHRIS DAWSON.
It was a memorable year for the North Bay Battalion.
In the organizations first season in North Bay the squad made it all the way to the OHL final.
Financially, a long playoff run is usually music to the ears of hockey owners.
But the North Bay Battalion wasn't the only one to benefit from a successful first season in North Bay.
The long run also meant the Battalion was giving back to the city, literally.
"As part of the agreement with the Battalion, for every ticket sold, $2.50 comes back to the city directly to go into the Capital Reserve Fund," said councillor Dave Mendicino, who is chair of Community Services.
"Basically with the 100,000 plus fans they had during the regular season attendance plus the extended playoff run the city was able to realize approximately $375,000 from ticket surcharge.
"Part of that money is going back to pay the interest-free loan to the owner of the Battalion, Mr. Scott Abbott, but the remainder stays with us and believe me we will put it to good use."
That number goes along with another $140,000 that Battalion President Mike Griffin says was paid back to the city from items such as ad revenue in the building and luxury suites.
"That's just purely what the city gets directly," said Griffin.
"Indirectly we created 13 full-time jobs in the city and any given game night we've got at least another 65 part-time employees," he added.
Mendicino believes its an indication of the value an OHL team brings to a community.
"That ticket surcharge is huge, I mean the renovations that have been done at the end of the day it is money well spent and its our community centre," he said.
"It isn't just about hockey, we've realized $375,000 in surcharge revenue from the tickets sold at Battalion games but that surcharge applies to any event which happens there where tickets are sold. Whether its the men's or women's Lakers, whether there's a concert being held there, any type of event like that will create a $2.50 surcharge so that $375,000 from the Battalion is a great number but over the coming years we expect to increase that number significantly with other events that we plan on bringing to the Gardens."
And that half a million dollars can go back towards the controversial renovation project at Memorial Gardens.
