No again for Niagara Falls OHL counter bid

The Niagara Falls Review is reporting that Capital Sports has turned down the counter-offer Niagara Falls city council made a week ago which likely officially means that the negotiations to bring the Ontario Hockey League's Mississauga Ice Dogs to Niagara Falls are now officially done.

Company president Roy Mlakar told The Review the city's proposal wasn't financially viable.

"We believe we're not a priority there," Mlakar told the Review Monday afternoon.

The city had offered Capital Sports 20 acres of city-owned land and $8 million in capital funding as part of its counter-offer. Council had turned down two previous proposals from the Ice Dogs in the last month.

City council members said it was unfortunate they couldn't work something out. This marks the fourth time a deal has been quashed to bring OHL hockey to Niagara Falls; twice recently by Capital Sports and once last fall by an ownership group which included Don Cherry and former NHLer Steve Ludzik.

North Bay an option now?

With Niagara Falls now virtually a non-factor will the OHL mandate Melnyk and his Ice Dogs ownership group to hand over the franchise to the next highest bidder in the process which would be the North Bay bid submitted by Moe Mantha Jr.?

Time is literally running out or perhaps it already has. That news could force the OHL board of governors to re-think the idea of having North Bay return to the league next fall.