If You Build It, They Will Come... Part 4

As we left you yesterday, Hockeytown, USA, was riding high. Ground had been broken on Massillon's new 6,500 seat hockey arena, luxury seats and suites were being sold to Massillon's movers and shakers, and Massillon's Mayor for Life was basking in the glow of vindication. The anti-Cicchinelli, anti-administration, anti-Arctic Express mayor haters were on the run... Could things get any better?

Yes they could! In November of 2001, the geniuses that run our state government thought it prudent to commit $1.5 million dollars of our tax money to Massillon for road and sewer work at the site of Massillon's new arena. That brings the state of Ohio's share to $2.5 million dollars for minor league hockey. Yes, and we keep electing Senator Schuring and Representative Oelslager. Or is that Senator Oelslager and Representative Schuring. Hard to keep track when they keep switching seats to avoid the term limit law.

The stab in the back

Old timers will still talk about how their hearts were broken when Brooklyn's beloved Dodgers left for Los Angeles. Colts fans still tear up when talking about their Baltimore Colts sneaking out of town in the middle of the night to relocate to Indianapolis. Massillonians couldn't understand the depth of despair these fans felt when their sports teams left town. Until it happened to us.

On January 10, 2002, The Repository reported that our beloved Arctic Express were leaving town... and going to Canton! This stab in the back would be felt for years as Hockeytown, USA, lost its heart and soul. Yes, the Express (or "Xpress") would now be the Canton Express, playing their home games at the Canton Civic Center. Massillon's hockey fans had been abandoned.

Kevin Carr, the General Manager of the now Canton Express was unhappy about the progress on construction at Massillon's 6,500 seat arena. "It's just a sand lot and a trailer at this point" (The Repository, January 10, 2002).

See, professional sports is just big business. What about the loyal and devoted fans? Don't they have a voice? Just because Canton had an arena, seats, and a hockey rink is a flimsy excuse to pack up and leave the people who invested their loyalty in your team.

The hockey team had left town, there was no construction going on at the site of the arena, and the State of Ohio committed TWO AND ONE HALF MILLION DOLLARS of our tax dollars for a hockey arena that was increasingly looking like a scam. Our Mayor for Life was at a crossroads.

It was increasingly clear that this project was a debacle, but our mayor forged on. Putting common sense aside, he would continue to pursue the dream of Hockeytown, USA. Smarter men would have stopped. Not Frank Cicchinelli. He would fight on.

To be continued...