What does the future look like for the St. Stephen Aces?
That’s the question everyone has been asking after rumors of a potential sale and possible relocation of the team, but the Aces management have kept quiet about the issue.
St. Stephen Mayor Allan MacEachern has also been kept in the dark about the future of the Jr. “A” hockey team which prompted neighbouring Saint Andrews Deputy Mayor, Brad Henderson, to speak out this week.
Henderson says he tries to keep municipal issues within their own borders, simply because it’s not fair to be on the outside and critique something going on in another municipality.
But, he says Mayor MacEachern and the community of St. Stephen have had a long-time relationship of supporting them as neighbours, and he says what’s good for St. Stephen is good for Saint Andrews, and vice versa.
“The reality is, I think the whole community of St. Stephen has done a fantastic job of embracing this team. We knew there were obviously some risks at the end of last season, but it seemed like the community made a long-term strategy, including the council, to maintain the team and have the team stay in St. Stephen. So to see them not be consulted at all, or not even get official communication, it’s quite troublesome.”
Henderson is hoping Aces management will confirm if the rumours are true or not.
“When you meet with a municipality, and you look at things like adjusting user rates, and you have a situation where a municipality is doing everything it can to help you, I think if you decide at that particular time that you basically are looking at other options, I think you almost owe it to the community to let them know that.”
Henderson adds that the Town of St. Stephen, or at least someone within the community should have had the first right to refusal if the team was considering a sale.
He adds a lot of people have invested their time, money, and support into the team.
“You’ve got a strong community of volunteers. You have families that have opened up their homes for billets. I think not giving St. Stephen the first opportunity, to be honest, it’s hurtful.”
We have attempted to reach out to Aces management, but officials have not commented to the media.
An announcement on the future of the team could be made as early as Monday, April 15th, in Fredericton.
