The American Hockey League (AHL) yesterday announced its approval for the Vancouver Canucks to buy the Peoria Rivermen.
The Canucks have said that their plan is to relocate the AHL team from Illinois to a yet-to-be-determined city near to Vancouver. Speculation is that the Canucks want to move the Peoria franchise to Abbotsford as part of an agreement with the Calgary Flames, which own the AHL's Abbotsford Heat and would move that team somewhere else.
Abbotsford city council signed a deal in 2010 with the Heat that guaranteed the team $5.7 million in annual revenue.
The Heat, however, have struggled to attract fans except when they play Vancouver's AHL farm team, the Chicago Wolves. The Heat finished the 2011-12 season with a $1.76 million shortfall that had to be covered by Abbotsford taxpayers.
That comes on top of a $1.3 million shortfall the previous year and a $450,000 shortfall the year before that.
Rumours have swirled that Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini is pondering buying both the Abbotsford Entertainment and Sports Centre and the land it occupies from the City of Abbotsford.
Aquilini was not available by press time to address those rumours.
"The purchase of the Peoria Rivermen franchise allows Canucks Sports & Entertainment to assume full control of their minor league development program," the Canucks said in a press release.
"No determination has been made relative to the operation of the franchise for the 2013-14 season."
