Rockford To Get Blackhawks Affiliate

After all these years, the MetroCentre is going to get an extreme makeover. The big orange arena will be transformed by 20 million dollars worth of renovations which will take place beginning in January or February. The catalyst for the improvements is an agreement between the MetroCentre Authority and the Blackhawks to have the Blackhawks` AAA affiliate playing here. "This gives us the opportunity to build the building back up after 25 years, bringing in a quality organization," says MetroCentre GM Corey Pearson. The agreement with the Blackhawks is for ten years. That`s key because that long-term committment convinced local politicians and the MetroCentre Authority that the cost of the improvements at the MetroCentre will be justified. The improvements call for a new entrance, a permanent restaurant that will be open year round, club seats, luxury suites and a VIP Club. The improvements will create a better experience for fans while enabling the MetroCentre Authority to capitalize on additional revenue from corporations and businesses. "We`re taking it to that next level because we have no appeal now to a corporation or to people that want to entertain someone or have an evening out as a corporation. We don`t have anything there," says Pearson. The hockey team will be owned by the MetroCentre Authority and in essence by the community insuring that the MetroCentre will have a permanent tentant that won`t leave. It won`t be the current IceHogs team. The rights to that UHL franchise will still belong to current owners Kris Tumilowicz and Craig Drektrah. It will likely be sold or moved to another city. The new team will be an existing AHL franchise that will be moved here or one that has recently gone dormant. It could possibly take over the IceHogs name and logo and the entire hockey operation will operate out of the MetroCentre. "There is a lot of risk, but one of the things that really helps to mitigate that risk is bringing the IceHogs organization over," says Pearson. "They`ve done so well." Looking at the bigger picture, the improvements to the MetroCentre will help attract more prime entertainment acts to the MetroCentre. And the improvements could become a catalyst for more economic development downtown. "I think the impact of downtown, we`re not going to be able to measure it," says Pearson. I think it`s going to be absolutely astronomical."