The Delaware Thunder hockey team is looking at its options after the Delaware State Fair did not renew its contract, citing the team’s schedule interfering with other activities at the fair’s rink in Harrington.
On April 15, the Delaware Thunder will play their last game at the Centre Ice Rink in Kent County after a four-year run.
“With that, we are saddened to have concluded that we have been unable to overcome the direct negative impact on our core programming arising from Delaware Thunder’s exclusive utilization of approximately 10 hours of prime-time weekend ice time for each pair of home games on Friday and Saturdays (approximately 28 games/season) played at the Centre Ice Rink,” said fair Assistant General Manager Danny Aguilar
Aguilar pointed to “the negative impact has accumulated over the past four years (three seasons of play) that Delaware Thunder has skated at The Centre has taken away a significant quantity of weekend prime time afternoon and evening hours that are needed to grow our instructional Learn To Skate and Learn To Play Hockey programs, detracting from our figure skating club’s ice time in addition to reducing weekend public skating sessions, ice bumper car riding, high school league play and collegiate hockey practice and games hosted by Salisbury University all of which were negatively impacted by the Thunder’s game schedule.”
R. Ronald Draper, president of the Board of Directors stated that: “The Delaware State Fair fulfilled the terms of the existing contract and has decided that based on the Fair’s own needs for internal program development and the expansion conflicts identified above, the agreement should not be renewed and the Thunder really needs to relocate another ice rink suitably sized to meet their requirements to seat at least 1,000 fans.”
The rink’s seating capacity as determined by the Delaware State Fire Marshall is only 645 and the fair estimates that the team needs to have a 1,000 seat facility to remain viable.
With a capacity of only 645, the Centre Ice Rink in Harrington is by far the absolute smallest rink in the entire network of Federal Hockey League teams extending from New York to the Carolinas, according to Ice Rink Manager Jeff Grable.
The fair is unable to expand the arena, due in part to its location.
Fair officials noted that the Thunder “has a very passionate and supportive fan base. The fair apologizes to those fans who are disappointed to have just heard from the Thunder this week about the decision made in January not to renew the lease.”
As team ownership continues to explore relocation to another market or the possible sale to a third party, the fair will assist the team as much as it can during this period of transition, a release stated.
