Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION
Winnipeg Saints go country, relocate in St. Adolphe Arena
THE Winnipeg Saints have a new home, but it's not in Winnipeg.
St. Adolphe Community Club and Arena will be home for the Manitoba Junior Hockey League team for at least the 2010-11 season.
The Saints became homeless recently after the board of directors at Dakota Community Centre, the Saints' home for the past 10 years, did not renew the Saints' contract for use of that facility.
Pat Meagher, one of the Saints' owners and a team board member, said the Saints received numerous offers since going public with their situation this week, but St. Adolphe is the closest location to Winnipeg, 13 kilometres south of the Perimeter on Highway 75.
"St. Adolphe wants us badly. We've met with them the last couple of nights and they've been really wonderful," said Meagher, noting several other locations farther outside the Perimeter Highway also extended offers, such as Lac du Bonnet, Morris and La Salle.
"We'd rather stay in the city. We've played here for 40-some years. Winnipeg has lots of rinks. There's just other programs taking up certain places.
"We had a good run at Dakota. We had a private dressing room, we had a bit of an office. But it just happened."
St. Adolphe Arena had been home to the Winnipeg Wild of the Manitoba AAA Midget Hockey League, but that team, along with the MJHL's Winnipeg South Blues, will relocate to the new MTS Iceplex, set to open in August.
MJHL commissioner Kim Davis, who was attending the MJHL annual meetings that began Friday afternoon, said the scheduling meeting will take place this morning and the Saints will be scheduled into St. Adolphe Arena.
"The Winnipeg Saints made a proposal to the board to play out of St. Adolphe and it was approved by the board unanimously, so they will be playing there for the upcoming season," Davis said.
"The proposal that was made was for a temporary appeasement. This is not permanent by any means and they are working on a proposal to get another facility, so this approval was made for the upcoming season only, and they have every expectation to return to Winnipeg. They just don't know where."
Saints coach Keith Cassidy said he was relieved to hear the team has a home.
"This is great news for the Saints and I'm just glad St. Adolphe stepped up and helped us out this way," said Cassidy, who led the Saints to the Addision Division title in 2009-10.
"Any place is better than not playing at all, and that small-town mentality of really going to the wall for you maybe will help bring us a more stable fan base."
Meagher, a former Saints player about 30 years ago, recalled when there were four city teams, but the Kildonan North Stars and St. James Canadians both folded during the past 20 years.
"It's unfortunate there's going to be the two teams that say Winnipeg in the Manitoba Junior Hockey League that are going to be both playing outside the Perimeter Highway," Meagher said.
The Blues will be playing out of Headingley, the location of the MTS Iceplex.
Recent news that the Southdale Arena will be expanding could mean it will be in a position to accommodate the Saints in the future.
ashley.prest@freepress.mb.ca
Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 29, 2010 D2
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