Canberra Cavalry enter Brave new world
The Canberra Cavalry will enter a Brave new world, taking over Canberra's Australian Ice Hockey League team to set up the ACT's first multi-sport franchise.
It's a model that's not uncommon in the USA, with New Orleans' NFL team in charge of their NBA team as well.
The Cavalry became a privately-owned ABL team last year using a community ownership model.
They've swooped on the Brave at the perfect time, having won the AIHL for the first time last year.
Brave co-founder Peter Chamberlain, who helped continue Canberra's presence in the AIHL following the demise of the Knights in 2014, said the move would ensure the long-term sustainability of the Brave.
"We’ve been able to demonstrate that there is a genuine appetite for AIHL in Canberra and a
sustainable model that delivers success on and off the ice," he said.
“The growth of the franchise across all measures has exceeded even our own expectations,
but it has become clear that if we want to continue that growth we need to change our structure
to allow the team to benefit from dedicated management resources.
"We’ve always had a good relationship with the Cavalry and I think we both saw an
opportunity to work together given the obvious synergies.
"The more we worked through it, the more it became clear that there was a bigger opportunity for both organisations."
The move means they'll be in charge of year-round sport, allowing them to capitalise on reduced costs through strealining.
It will be a staged transition, with the Cavalry taking over the management immediately, but not officially becoming owners until later in the year.
Cavalry chief executive Donn McMichael will have the same mantle for the Brave.
"This model sees the Cavalry turn into a year-round operation and provides the Brave with
an opportunity to continue to grow through increased and specialist sports management
resources," McMichael said.
"The benefits will flow to players and fans of both teams given that this increases our scale."
More to come.