DEVIL OF A DEAL: Hockey stays in Binghamton

Bedeviled?

You might be — and that’s a good thing, at least if you’re a local hockey fan.

It’s official. The Binghamton Devils, or B-Devils, are coming to the Floyd L. Maines Veterans Memorial Arena next season and, as was disclosed at a media conference held Tuesday at the Holiday Inn Downtown Binghamton, they’ll remain here at least through the 2021-22 season.

Many media outlets – the Press & Sun-Bulletin included – reported last week the New Jersey Devils’ American Hockey League affiliate would move from Albany to Binghamton for the 2017-18 season.

The AHL Board of Governors unanimously approved the move Sunday during a meeting in Allentown, Pennsylvania — the site for AHL All-Star festivities that wrapped up Monday night.

It ends what Tom Mitchell, the Binghamton Senators’ vice-president in charge of business operations, called a year-long process.

“I’m glad it’s over,” said Mitchell, who’s been involved with professional hockey locally dating to the Binghamton Whalers in the 1980s. “It’s been a year of, I don’t want to say glitches, but issues to sort through.”

For the past 15 seasons, the Binghamton Senators have played their AHL home games in the Arena. Binghamton’s relationship with the Ottawa Senators will end after this season as the NHL franchise announced it would move its AHL team to Belleville, Ontario, Canada. That announcement came in September.

On Sept. 26, Mitchell said an AHL team would remain in Binghamton.

Mitchell made good on his promise Tuesday, though he admitted, “(Four or five months ago), I stuck my neck way out there.”

What kept Mitchell optimistic about securing an AHL team was that Ottawa told him it would not move unless another team was set to take its place. Mitchell said once Ottawa made its intentions known, he received a call from a team about five minutes later that wanted to move to Binghamton.

Three teams expressed interest, Mitchell said, declining to name the other two.

Other problems needed to be addressed. Foremost was securing a lease with Broome County for hockey. That was finalized Dec. 19, when a five-year extension was signed that will run through the 2021-22 season.

“They got a little more rent out of us, but we’re willing to pay for it,” said Mitchell, who wouldn’t announce dollar amounts with regard to lease for the Arena or what his group paid for the agreement with New Jersey.

The New Jersey Devils own their AHL franchise and control all hockey-related operations. The local operating group is made up of minority owners Mitchell, Bob Carr and Ray Stanton III, along with majority owners Tim Smith and Tom Bolles.

“It’s our job to create an environment where (New Jersey) can (only worry about hockey), and we pay them for that,” Mitchell said of an annual affiliation agreement.

Of the fee, Mitchell said, “I wish maybe we didn’t have to pay them as much we do, but we have to keep up with the Joneses and we do.”

Details of the deal with the Devils were finalized around Christmas, Mitchell said.

The website binghamtondevils.com is active, and season tickets can be purchased for next season. A full-season membership for 38 home games at center ice runs $610, and other packages are available. Mitchell said the Devils are offering a free ticket to a New Jersey home game for those purchasing season tickets.

The Albany Devils still had two years left on their lease agreement to keep the team in the Times Union Center, but an out clause allowed New Jersey to get out of the deal after a year. Attendance has been sparse for Albany home games. The Devils rank last in the 30-team AHL with an average of 3,096 fans in a venue that seats 14,236.

Binghamton is next-to-last in attendance with an average of 3,463 fans. The arena holds 4,679 for hockey.

“After evaluating multiple scenarios and obtaining the approval of the AHL Board of Governors, we have agreed to partner with a local operating group in Binghamton, N.Y., to relocate our AHL franchise for the 2017-18 season,” New Jersey Devils president Hugh Weber said Tuesday at the Times Union Center. “The new arrangement will allow the organization to focus its efforts on developing our player prospects, while leaving the business operations to those with expertise in the market.”

Broome County executive Jason Garnar attended Tuesday’s news conference in Binghamton.

“I want to thank Tom Mitchell and his staff for the hard work in keeping AHL hockey in Broome County,” Garnar said.

As fate would have it, the Binghamton Senators will host the Albany Devils at 7:05 p.m. Saturday.

Asked which team local fans should root for Saturday, Mitchell said: “Like I said, we are the Binghamton Senators until the end of the season. I know who I’m rooting for Saturday night.”

And so a tradition of professional hockey that started in Binghamton in 1973 continues. From the Broome Dusters to the Binghamton Whalers to the Binghamton Rangers to the BC Icemen to the Binghamton Senators and next season, the Binghamton Devils.

“Jim Matthews (founder of the Dusters) brought something special to this community in 1973 that’s been special to the community ever since,” Mitchell said of Matthews, who died in 2011. “I can tell you today that’s going to continue.”

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The Daily Gazette of Schenectady contributed to this story.