New owners say North Stars need to build fanbase

Sports & Recreation — 17 November 2010

Financial difficulties with the former Fort William North Stars has ushered in new ownership and a new name for the SIJHL club.

The new team is named the Thunder Bay North Stars and now has eight new owners. Although not all new shareholders in the company have been named, included are David Dubinsky, President; Marvin Pelletier, Treasurer; Ken Perrier, Secretary and Jeremy Adduono as Director of Hockey Operations.

“We are going to take this season as a learning process, and hit the ground running next season with a new and improved team that will concentrate on community involvement, and a lot better marketing,” says Dubinsky. “To get Thunder Bay in to Junior A hockey in a way they really haven’t been in the past.”

The newly formed company is comfortable with eight shareholders, but are willing to accept other partners who have a genuine interest in the team and the financial abilities.

The newly formed ownership has negotiated a deal with the Superior International Junior Hockey League (SIJHL) to hold exclusivity to Junior Hockey for a term of five years. After some debate and negotiation with the SIJHL, it was agreed that the Thunder Bay North Stars would be the only team in Thunder Bay competing at this level.

Dubinsky says one of the biggest needs in the game right now is to have more fans in the Fort William Gardens to watch the games. He states that the average audience right now is between 150 to 200 fans per game, and that is not good enough to sustain Junior Hockey in Thunder Bay.

“We’re hoping this season to flood the community with opportunities to come and see the team free of charge. Every home game now will be free of charge to kids twelve and under for the rest of the season,” says Dubinsky.

Other ideas the new ownership has, is to offer free entry to all ages at certain games with a donation of a non-perishable food item for the local food bank.

Dubinsky comments that the North Stars have not previously participated in community involvement activities such as volunteer work, school appearances, or minor hockey programs. He says that will change immediately, and the Thunder Bay North Stars players will be much more accessible to the community and involved in activities around the city.

“They need to get a presence out there and show that they are not only committed to hockey, but to the community as well,” says Dubinsky.

By Ally Dunham

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