Municipal officials are gathering information for a hockey team that's considering Chatham as a landing spot for relocation.
CAO Don Shropshire says the unnamed team's ownership was in town yesterday asking questions. "They were basically looking for demographic information about our community so that they can help support any decisions that they would like to make," says Shropshire. "And they also made it clear that they're also looking at a number of other options as well, so I don't think people should think that we're the only option that's being considered. We're known as a popular hockey town and we've supported our hockey for years so you know I think that's one of the things that makes us attractive."
Shropshire says he and his staff will now talk to stakeholders, including existing teams like the Chatham Maroons and Junior C teams, to see how any potential change might impact them. He says no future meeting with the ownership group has been set and it's up to them if they want to move forward to pursue the move further.
Shropshire says the municipality is looking to see if there's any financing available from the provincial or federal levels of government. He expects any recommendations and details to be presented to Chatham-Kent Council in the next few weeks.