JIM BALSILLIE: HAMILTON'S NEWSMAKER OF THE YEAR
"It was a chance to realize a dream. All I wanted was a fair chance to bring a seventh NHL team to Canada."
December 31, 2009
Ken Peters
The Hamilton Spectator
http://www.thespec.com/News/Local/article/697285
He captivated not just Hamilton but the nation with his brash, aggressive campaign to bring the Phoenix Coyotes to this city. He took on the NHL, championed Canada's game as a fan and gave a voice to the city's NHL dreams. That he failed in the end doesn't take away from his impact on Hamilton in 2009.
He became a Hamilton hero. Not bad for the slightly eccentric billionaire from Waterloo who captivated our city by sharing his passion and his dream to bring a National Hockey League franchise to Copps Coliseum.
Jim Balsillie may have been from Waterloo but his heart belonged to Hamilton, which eagerly joined in his dream.
His wealth, passion and commitment to this community made Hamiltonians believers. For the first time in nearly 20 years, Hamilton had a real shot and watched as this real-life courtroom drama played out through a series of twists and turns over five months.
No, the story did not have a happy ending. At least not in 2009. But there are more than a few Hamiltonians who believe Balsillie's efforts have been such that it is now a matter of when and not if the city receives a franchise. Sadly, it appears evident that Balsillie would not be the owner.
But for all that, Jim Balsillie -- pronounced BAWL-sell-lee with the emphasis at the start of the surname -- is Hamilton's Newsmaker of the Year.
Former Hamilton-Wentworth Regional chair and Spectator columnist Terry Cooke said there is no denying Balsillie's impact on the community.
"He, in very short order, became a household name and a favoured son simply because he made the viability of NHL hockey here real and he was prepared to spend his own private capital to do that. I think he demonstrated that this was a place that inevitably will be home to an NHL franchise."
Cooke, who is set to become president and CEO of the Hamilton Community Foundation next week, said Balsillie's bid had legitimacy. It proved to be Hamilton's best bid since Ron Joyce was shut out in December 1990 for an expansion team.
"There was both real money and real commitment to make it happen over the long term," he said.
While Balsillie was familiar to Hamilton hockey fans from the two previous unsuccessful bids to lure an NHL team here, it was his seemingly out of nowhere offer of $212.5-million US to buy and relocate the bankrupt Phoenix Coyotes to Copps that would make him close to a daily fixture for the Hamilton media.
But Balsillie's gambit turned into a national story as well when he launched his Make it Seven campaign that soon gained Canada-wide support for adding a seventh NHL franchise in this country.
But Jim from Rim's familiarity was limited. Balsillie's handlers restricted his media access to just a handful of interviews.
Balsillie let his actions tell the story.
And those actions were bold.
Balsillie's comments early in the process helped explain his reasoning for his unorthodox approach.
"I spent five years looking for a front door (into the NHL).
"The entrenched power structure is casting me as a rogue because they don't like what I'm doing.
"I know what side the angels are on and the entrenched interests don't like it," he said last May.
When Balsillie unveiled spectacular -- Mayor Fred Eisenberger called them "jaw-dropping" -- plans for a $150-million Cdn renovation to Copps Coliseum as part of his plan to bring the Coyotes here, the excitement was palpable.
And on June 18 some 3,500 Hamilton hockey fans turned out to the Jackson Square rooftop plaza to attend a Bring the NHL to Hamilton rally. Balsillie didn't attend. But that didn't stop the crowd from bursting into a spontaneous "Thank you Jim" chant that appropriately summed up the community's gratitude.
The fate of the Coyotes simmered in court over the summer. And it became apparent that the issue had become intensely personal between Balsillie and NHL commissioner Gary Bettman.
Balsillie fought hard to convince bankruptcy Judge Redfield T. Baum that the pivotal issue was the existence of an unlawful Toronto Maple Leafs' veto over a Hamilton team. The NHL countered by attacking Balsillie's character and integrity.
At the end of July, the NHL voted 26-0 to reject Balsillie's franchise transfer application. NHL deputy commissioner Bill Daly suggested to The Spec that Hamilton had great fans but the city had wedded the wrong hockey spouse.
Two other bids came and went.
Soon it was down to just two. One from Balsillie. The other from the NHL.
Baum had promised to have a resolution in place before the start of the season. He was good to his word. On Sept. 30, the day before the NHL regular season began, Baum rejected both bids but said the NHL bid would be acceptable with some revisions.
Balsillie announced there would be no appeal. The Hamilton hockey dream was over. For now.
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