New Springfield Falcons (AHL) owner Charles Pompea says his first priority is shoring up the finances of the historic franchise and, despite some buzz to the contrary, will work to keep the franchise in town.
Pompea may live in Florida, but he has the business assets to make a go of it in Springfield as the retired owner of Primary Steel, a company based in Middletown, Conn. The deal, set up (predictably enough) by Bruce Landon, came after Pompea had looked at buying the team three years ago but passing at that time. This time he pulled the trigger.
And his first moves indicate a commitment to the Springfield market, which in sports-business circles is considered to be a strong one. Pompea worked out an extension to the team’s player-development deal with the Columbus Blue Jackets, and he’s also working on a lease extension to MassMutual Center.
“Our intention is to keep hockey in Springfield and provide a consistency of an NHL affiliation. We also want to provide our fans with aggressive, entertaining and winning hockey … we want to thank the business community and fans for their support and patience as we look forward to their continued loyalty. What we need now is to put more fans in the seats and have them be that extra player that will help us bring the Calder Cup back where it belongs,†Pompea said in a statement announcing the deal.
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