The ACH league has retained Cosmos Sports & Entertainment to handle a southern Ontario search process to seek out potential franchisees in various locations.

“It’s not just finding people who have the money,” said Cosmos Sports and Entertainment president Cary Kaplan, noting the expansion fee is $100,000. “It’s about finding people who are committed, care about the community and want to support hockey.”

The Brantford Blast were a staple in ACH for nearly two decades. However, the team last played during the 2019-20 season under the direction of Tony Falasca.

A message left with Falasca asking about his intentions with the team was not returned.

Kaplan said Brantford is and always has been a great place for senior hockey.

“I know the area and market very well,” said Kaplan. “I’ve always had an affinity for Brantford and the league.

“Obviously there’s a long history of the league being in Brantford which is why it’s always a market on the radar. There’s nowhere else besides maybe Dundas that’s had the history or success and understands senior hockey and the Allan Cup so for us it’s obvious that we’ve got to explore going back to Brantford.

“If we’re expanding to six, eight or 10 teams, it would be a shame that Brantford isn’t one of those. It’s a hockey community.”

The timing of placing an ACH team back in the city seems a bit off since the Ontario Hockey League’s Bulldogs just finished their inaugural season in the city but Kaplan feels there’s room for both organizations.

“I do think there are many cities of Brantford’s size and population that have multiple teams and they’re very different,” he said, noting ticket prices for ACH range from $10 to $20.

“It’s very logical to me that they can co-exist. Not everybody can go to games for different reasons. Not everybody can afford the (OHL) tickets.

“It’s another option we’d like to provide.”

Having Kaplan’s name attached to the group seeking new franchises can only be seen as a positive. Kaplan was the past president of both the American Hockey League’s Hamilton Bulldogs and the ECHL’s Brampton Beast.

Cosmos has become a leader in ticket sales, sponsorship, marketing, franchise sales, training and branding and Kaplan has personally worked with teams in the NHL, NBA, CFL and NLL.

Kaplan has also had many high profile and diverse clients while serving in senior sports industry roles.

“I hope that us being involved can add some credibility or exposure and we can find the right owners,” he said.

Currently ACH has teams in Dundas, Wentworth, Stoney Creek and Richmond Hill, which was added as an expansion team just as the league started to work with Cosmos.

Kaplan, whose company is also working with the Intercounty Baseball League and helped bring new ownership in that league to Toronto, said ACH is an underappreciated, undervalued league.

“There’s only (four) teams (in ACH) and that shouldn’t be the case,” he said. “It’s really good hockey and it’s affordable.

“There hasn’t been a focus on putting the word out. It’s obvious to us that it should grow and now it’s finding where.”

There have been talks with many communities in southern Ontario and inquiries are starting to come from those centres. Kaplan said he’s hopeful someone in Brantford may be interested.

“We hope somebody comes out of the woodwork that would like to revive the Brantford team in this league,” he said.

Email allancup@cosmossports.com for more information.

See the article on the Brantford Expositor website by clicking here.