PORTLAND (AP) — Portland’s mayor says the city didn’t know that the Portland Pirates of the American Hockey League were planning to leave Maine for Springfield, Massachusetts.
Mayor Ethan Strimling tells The Portland Press Herald he learned of the plans when reporters called him with questions on Wednesday afternoon.
Cross Insurance Arena board chairman Mitch Berkowitz said this week that the Pirates are leaving Portland after 23 years in Maine’s largest city.
Strimling says the city wasn’t contacted by anyone from the Pirates organization about the pending move. He says he’s “disappointed” that the city was left out of the conversation.
Mike McKenna, a player on the team, says it’s a “complete shock.”
Pirates majority owner Ron Cain didn’t respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.
The Pirates’ season ended Sunday.
The Times Record Sustaining Sponsor
We believe a community must be informed to thrive. bowdoin.edu
Comments are not available on this story. Read more about why we allow commenting on some stories and not on others.
We believe it's important to offer commenting on certain stories as a benefit to our readers. At its best, our comments sections can be a productive platform for readers to engage with our journalism, offer thoughts on coverage and issues, and drive conversation in a respectful, solutions-based way. It's a form of open discourse that can be useful to our community, public officials, journalists and others.
We do not enable comments on everything — exceptions include most crime stories, and coverage involving personal tragedy or sensitive issues that invite personal attacks instead of thoughtful discussion.
You can read more here about our commenting policy and terms of use. More information is also found on our FAQs.
Show less