Chatham-Kent (CK) is in the mix to be a home for a future Ontario Hockey League (OHL) team.
CK Mayor Darrin Canniff was on CK Mornings on 94.3 CKSY with hosts Chris McLeod and Allanah Wills, where he explained that municipal leaders had a meeting last week with OHL Commissioner Bryan Crawford.
Canniff explained that the meeting focused on the league's current position and plans for possible expansion.
"We put up our hands and said we'd love to be in the mix on a potential team in the future," said Canniff.
The meeting also covered the potential of having a team in CK. Canniff noted both sides agreed that, geographically, there may not be a better spot to expand to.
"We're right smack in the middle of Windsor, London, and Sarnia," he added.
In Canniff's words, CK checked every box except one. The biggest issue is a lack of a suitable arena.
The Chatham Memorial Arena is the municipality's largest arena, with a capacity of around 2,500. Currently, the smallest arena in the OHL is TD Civic Centre in Brantford, though the city is planning to build a new arena that can accommodate over 5,000 people.
"I believe if we had an (appropriate) arena, we would have a team by now," said Canniff.
He explained that there will need to be a proper discussion amongst CK's council and municipal administration about building a new arena.
Back in December, council approved allocating up to $2 million to start the process for several major capital projects. This includes a multi-million dollar sports complex.
