Bonjour Boisbriand

Press Release

The Lewiston MAINEiacs have officially submitted a request to relocate for the 2009-2010 season. The official application was submitted Saturday evening to the Québec Major Junior Hockey League office in Boucherville, Québec, coinciding with the announcement from team owner and CEO Mark Just.

"This was an extremely difficult decision, and it has taken me until today to finally come to terms with it." commented Just. "We have such an unbelievable core base of fans, sponsors, and volunteers. I can't thank them enough for their support over the past five and a half seasons. We have developed so many great partners throughout this journey including the city of Lewiston, municipal and state officials, Senator Susan Collins, the Jr. MAINEiacs as well as the current owners /operators of the Androscoggin Bank Colisée, Firland Management. And to all those families that opened up your homes to house our players as members of our billet program; you are a testament to strength of character and hospitable nature that is so prevalent within this community."

Just continued, "Our business model was based on an average attendance of 3,000 spectators per game, something that was never achieved even during our remarkable President Cup championship season in 2006-2007. At its pinnacle, we had close to 2,000 season ticket holders, along with sponsorship and group sales revenue that exceeded budgeted expectations. However, our casual fan base never reached expectations, resulting in the team operating substantially in the red since its inception."

Just went on to state, "I did not get involved in the Québec Major Junior Hockey League for financial reasons. My motivation has always been my passion for this game, our players, and everyone associated with the team. However, at some point I had to bring myself to the realization that we simply cannot continue to subsidize this team indefinitely considering it has not once broken even over the past six seasons. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, that time has come."

Filing the application is the first step in the relocation process for the MAINEiacs. The QMJHL will convene a special meeting of its members (owners) to discuss the issue. The league's constitution requires an affirmative vote from two-thirds of the members for the relocation to be approved.

If approved, the franchise will relocate to Boisbriand, Québec, an off-island community on the north-west side of Montreal. The team's home arena will be the Centre d'Excellence sur Glace, a new 3,500 seat facility that is currently under construction.

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(Nathan also is a writer for Maineiacs Post to Post and the Maine Hockey Journal. He can be reached at fourniern@students.nescom.edu)