Is Hamilton Ready for a Potential New AHL Team?

A look at the exterior of the newly renovated TD Coliseum in Hamilton

As the sounds of "Hey Jude" resonated from both the audience and legendary Paul McCartney, Hamilton's refurbished downtown arena was most certainly open for business.

It was quite the start for TD Coliseum with THE Paul McCartney as the first act in the expensively decorated arena. The arena would continue deliver with Earth, Wind and Fire and Andrea Boccelli. 2026 will bring the Offspring, Nine Inch Nails, newly minted Trump mega fan Cardi B and soccer ball kicking Rod Stewart. Though to be fair as the legendary singer pushes 80, maybe the soccer ball has been retired. With all that, the bread and butter of the arena should be sports. Concerts can only provide so many dates. Sports can provide an anchor tenant and residency in the area upwards of 50 times a year and would be a key in keeping the venue flourishing.

The PWHL recently held one of its well-attended takeover events in Hamilton and drew in excess of 16, 000 which was an outstanding crowd. The large crowd was not a surprise. The PWHL has done masterful marketing of their takeover games and have set a high standard for other leagues to follow. Plus, Hamilton has always been a fanbase that will turn out in droves for what it perceives to be a big event. It's always been that way. Remember when Copps Coliseum would host NHL exhibition games and the odd regular season game? Always close to if not a sell out. World Juniors? Canada Cups? Memorial Cups? WWF/E Pay Per View cards? Make the event big and Hamilton will be there in its finest! The other sports that has been at the new area has been the return of the Toronto Rock. From pictures that I have seen the crowd has been solid, though the top portion of the rink has been curtained off.

The PWHL would be a natural for Hamilton with a built in rival in Toronto not far away. However, there's a lot of competition and a lot of markets ready to house a team so Hamilton might have to get in line. The Ottawa Charge is a situation worth keeping an eye on given that they are in an arena battle with the Ottawa 67's. The 67's are moving into a new arena with a capacity of 6000, but the Charge feel that they are leaving a ton of money on the table as they feel they have a larger fanbase than 6 000. On the other hand, there will be a new arena in downtown Ottawa, but likely not until three or four years down the road. So do the Charge gut it out with the 67's and then make a move where the Senators will play? Will they go to Canadian Tire Centre in Kanata, or will they pull up stakes and leave with Hamilton being a potential destination? It's complicated to say the least and there are a lot of moving parts. It is not something that Hamilton should bank on.

While that is getting sorted out there was renewed momentum of an old story saying that the Bridgeport Islanders of the AHL were coming to Hamilton and the AHL would return after an absence of 11 years. The AHL via the Hamilton Roadrunners and the Bulldogs had been in Hamilton since the mid 90's and had drawn crowds all over the map. Sometimes good, sometimes bad and when the Toronto Marlies came to town the crowds would surpass 5 or 6 000 and get into the 8000 range. When William Nylander played his first professional game the upper bowl was open, and the crowd was in excess of 10,000. Largely though, the crowds were somewhat unless it was the Marlies. When the Bulldogs made their big championship run in 2007 with a young Carey Price manning the pipes it took a while for fans to warm up to the team, but when they did they sold out the entire building. But then when the next season started the momentum had all but gone and by the end of 2015 Montreal took the team to a new arena in Laval. Though crowds were not great, they were decent, but the AHL was also embarking on an era of moving teams closer to their NHL clubs and Laval, with a nice new arena, made more geographic sense.

So here we are in 2026 wondering if a team whose NHL affiliate is in Long Island can thrive in Steeltown. The New York Islanders are about as random of a team that you can suddenly jettison into the Hammer. I say all that but still think the team can thrive. Allow the team to develop its own identity, logo and team colour and Hamiltonians will be more connected to the team. Make sure that you market the heck out of the young, talented players on the team. Matthew Schaefer is already an NHL star so you won't have him but you will likely have Kashawn Aitcheson, a hard hitting first round pick who plays for Barrie and has worn Team Canada colours and likely other players with some notioriety. Market other teams as your rivals and not just Toronto. Of course the Marlies will likely be a great draw and you likely get them at least six times a year. Rochester, which is Buffalos' AHL team, should be a rival as it's relatively close. Same with Belleville (Ottawa), Laval (Montreal) and the affiliates of natural NHL rivals like the Rangers (Hartford), Washington (Hershey) and New Jersey (Binghamton). My rough guess is that with the three Canadian teams as well as Rochester you're likely looking at 20 of the 36 home dates. Bring in Hamilton born and bred people to be veteran players and also management. Market the heck out of this as Hamilton's team as well. As I said before, if fans feel its a big league event, they will come. A new arena will help for the first year or two but that novelty will wear thin and its time to get creative. On the media side, make sure your broadcast has some edge and personality and I'd either find a way to get around the CRTC and get the games on Cable 14, or strike a big partnership with CHCH and maybe even invest in a game of the week, or at the very least some content in the form of a show and/or podcast.

Hey, I know the Bulldogs AHL team left quietly and without a lot of fanfare in 2015. I was the television play by play voice of that team the last two years. It was not a great on ice product as the team missed the playoffs the two years I called games for the TV. Off-ice everyone worked hard but there was something missing when it came to connecting the team to the city. People were mad that the team left but it was not over the top fervor with "Save Our Team Campaign's". Plus the OHL moved in from Belleville and housed the Hamilton Bulldogs for two championships and while the team was excellent on the ice, the crowds were good but not great and very slow until the finals. They moved to Brantford and while the arena was being furbished Hamilton was without hockey of the OHL/AHL variety for the first time in a long time.

Now its 2026. It's a different vibe in the city and most importantly a different arena. Copps Coliseum/First Ontario Centre was almost 40 years old. It was old. It was tired. It was time for a fresh look. Well, they've got that fresh look as a part of a downtown that is changing, has been gentrified in places with a bustling and growing population. Market and promote it right and the AHL in Hamilton can be a rousing success. More importantly, If they need a charismatic, handsome, well-spoken and well-regarded broadcaster, well I'm two of those things.....

Steve Clark is a long time Hamilton area resident who has called a lot of sports in his hometown, including the AHL Hamilton Bulldogs from 2013-2015. He currently calls games down the QEW for the Niagara IceDogs of the Ontario Hockey League

www.steveclarkmedia.com is where you can find his work