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This is the first part in a two-part series examining pro hockey in Hamilton
After more than a decade without professional puck, two pro franchises dropped onto the laps of Hamiltonians like a top-shelf sizzler into the back of the net.
In late March, the New York Islanders and the Oak View Group announced the relocation of the Bridgeport Islanders to Hamilton, changing the team name to the Hammers in tribute to the city’s industrial past.
This will be the city’s fourth crack at making the American Hockey League a going concern in the city. The Montreal Canadiens, Edmonton Oilers and the Vancouver Canucks all fell short in their attempts at making it work long-term in Steeltown.
The Hammers open the home portion of the schedule on Oct. 9 against the Toronto Marlies at the TD Coliseum.
Less than two months after the Hammers announced their relocation news, the expansion-minded Professional Women’s Hockey League granted Hamilton a franchise . That announcement was made on May 13.
More than 16,000 fans filled TD Coliseum to watch the Toronto Sceptres lose 3-2 to the Seattle Torrent in a PWHL takeover game. The takeover games are designed to build local interest in the league while testing potential new markets.
The PWHL hasn’t released its regular-season schedule as the franchise and its fans wait for an eventual nickname to rally behind.
With about $300 million in renovations completed at the downtown rink , will the upgrades to the in-game experience provide a boost that both teams need to attract and retain the public and the business community long term?
That remains to be seen, but, of course, winning helps too.
Will the public and the business community support both franchises on a consistent basis? Or will the community choose one over the other? Afterall, there are only so many disposable dollars available for entertainment per household these days.
Those answers and more will develop over the course of the next few years.
Meanwhile, let’s get the show underway already.
Hammer time
After three failed attempts, an NHL affiliate franchise is looking to ‘Hammer’ down a permanent market in Hamilton, with some local help.
“We have a compelling combination of elements in our market,” Nicole Demers told the Toronto Sun when asked what the New York Islanders thought of Hamilton’s bona fides. “We have a very passionate hockey community, there is a lot of rich history here and, or course, our completely transformed world-class facility.”
Demers is the head of business operations for the Hamilton Hammers. She has been a long-term fixture in the Hamilton professional sports scene for nearly two decades. Previously, Demers was the vice-president of business operations with the Hamilton Sports Group, primarily focusing on Hamilton-based Forge FC of the Canadian Premier League.
The Islanders announced they were moving their AHL affiliate from Bridgeport, Ct., to the TD Coliseum back in March. Rebranded as the Hammers, the team will play in the AHL’s North Division starting in October. The league’s board of governors unanimously approved the relocation on March 31.
Fourth time the charm?
The city has introduced pro hockey to its residents on three separate occasions, dating back to the early 1990s. Ultimately, each of the endeavours came with unique reasons for yanking out the roots and leaving town.
Demers is not here to answer for the foibles of previous attempts, or the circumstances that hastened multiple departures. The Hammers have adopted a starting-from-scratch mentality.
“This is a fundamentally different position that we are in comparative to what has been here previously,” she said. “We have a renovated, transformed TD Coliseum so that will allow us to talk to a new audience and bring the corporate community from a broader range and region than we had before. Of course, it is exciting, shiny, and new for people experiencing events in our building. The landscape has changed substantially.”
As part of an extensive renovation plan, the former Copps Coliseum received a seating upgrade, had its sightlines enhanced, added premium seats and clubs, along with a refreshed concourse that offers expanded concessions and dining options. The building at the corner of Bay St. N. and York Blvd. opened in November 2025.
The Oak View Group (OVG) spent about $300 million on the reno project. OVG owns the building. Along with the Islanders, OVG owns a partial ownership stake in the Hammers.
Rick Zamperin, co-anchor of the CHCH Morning Live morning show, brings plenty of experience and opinions on the Hamilton sports scene. Zamperin was the play-by-play announcer for the Tiger-Cats from 2007-2014 on CHML 900 radio. He has lived and worked in Hamilton since 2000.
He has seen this act before as the Canucks, Oilers and Canadiens tried to make Hamilton work. The Canadiens were the most recent team with an AHL affiliate in town. The Hamilton Bulldogs captured the Calder Cup in 2007, but departed for St. John’s at the completion of the 2015 season and has since settled in Laval, Que., as the Rocket.
Can it work this time?
With a building housing all the accoutrements of modernity and a hyper-local marketing focus that reflects the history of the steel industry, will the incoming squad make a legitimate stake in the market this time around?
“I do not know,” Zamperin said. “I would love it to work because I am a huge hockey fan. Am I a big AHL fan? No. And I think that most big-time, hardcore hockey fans are not AHL fans, but they will go to the games because maybe on a Saturday they do not want to travel to Toronto or Buffalo or maybe it is out of their budget, so this is the next best thing.”
Like butter scraped over too much bread, there are a number of teams in Hamilton competing for the entertainment dollar, either on the pro or amateur side.
“There is an element of competition for people’s discretionary spending,” Demers said.
Competiting for dollars
The seasons of the Tiger-Cats and Forge FC will slightly overlap with the hockey season. And there also are plenty of collegiate sports in the area twith McMaster University and Mohawk College both offering multiple sports, not to mention junior football with the Hamilton Hurricanes.
But the biggest challenge will probably come from the PWHL’s Hamilton franchise, slated to begin its first season at TD Coliseum this fall.
“There are a lot of competitive sports properties in the market and more teams in Hamilton than I have ever seen, and I have been in the professional sports industry for almost 20 years now,” Demers said. “It is encouraging, but it also comes with a set of challenges. I think that underscores our need to double down on our efforts to make sure the Hammers experience is second to none.”
When this deal was announced five months ago, there was no mention of how long the commitment period was.
“I can’t get into the specifics of the term,” Demers said when asked, acknowledging this is “not a two-year solution.”
“We understand we are in a building phase, and it is not lost on anybody that we are operating here in year one with a condensed runway,” she said. “We are ambitious as to what we are going to do in year one, but the goal is building a long-term strategy and building a foundation for success for many years to come.
“We want the youth that exist today to grow up on Hamilton Hammers hockey. This isn’t a short-term solution, and that is one of those misconceptions that might exist in the public domain.”
‘Encouraged’
Demers says she is optimistic about the sentiments she is receiving from the public and the business community.
“We are encouraged in what we are hearing in the community,” she said. “There has been a lot of positivity around the brand.”
Zamperin has yet to see tangible evidence that the team exists, beyond the introductory news conference, social media, and the internet.
“(Their) marketing can be better,” he said. “If I haven’t seen it then I am sure a lot of other people haven’t seen it.”
The TV morning man wants nothing more than the city to toss aside the “narrative that this community can’t support an AHL franchise or a pro hockey franchise.”
“I really want to see them succeed,” Zamperin added. “… It is going to be very intriguing to see the fan reaction, not only to game one, but game 70 and how many people are there.”
ganderson@postmedia.com