Burke’s Named Sportspersons of the Year

By JIM WALLACE

Denise and Bill Burke really had no idea what they were getting into.
Smitten with the Ontario Hockey League after their eldest son, Billy, played for the Barrie Colts in 2005-2006, Bill simply wanted to be involved.

What better way than to own a team?

The Burkes not only became owners of the Niagara IceDogs, but they changed the face of sport in St. Catharines and, indeed, all of Niagara. For that reason, the husband and wife have been named the Sportspersons of the Year for 2007 in St. Catharines. They will receive the Rex Stimers Trophy at a special presentation prior to Monday night¹s city council meeting.

Buying the then-Mississauga IceDogs and moving them to St. Catharines was not exactly easy. “We had sold the (family printing) business, chasing our dreams and just fell in love with the OHL,” 51-year-old Bill said. “We had been chasing the Ottawa group and (Eugene) Melnyk for months with e-mails, trying to get their attention, and nobody e-mailed me back.” It was a chance meeting with Frank Caputi, Luca’s father, a team scout and Bill’s barber, that lined up the future owner with general manager Dave Brown “and the wheels started turning.”

There were previous dealings with groups who had not yet bought the team, trying to move them to St. Catharines and then Niagara Falls. During a long, drawn-out process, the groups were turned down by city councils in both cities because they felt the deals presented were not in the best interests of taxpayers.

“We were in Florida and were told a deal was in place and they had 10 days,” Bill recalled. I said, “If it didn’t go through, let me know.” Bill, who graduated from Ridley College in 1977, was later contacted by league comissioner David Branch just prior to Easter and started his own deal.

In the meantime, Denise was busy planning their ‘retirement.’ “We laugh now at the Scotiabank commercial on TV where they’re asking what you’re going to do with your retirement and the wife shows the signs,” she said with a laugh. “I would be the one saying we’re just going to relax and he’d have the sign that said no, we’re buying a hockey team.”

The deal ended up closing very quickly and when it did, there was no question the team would be based in St. Catharines, but would be a regional team. “The first time I was introduced to the community, I was asked if (the deal) was fast,” Denise said. “I felt like Bill came home and said, Honey, we now own the Niagara IceDogs,” and my joke at the time was, That¹s fine, I know nothing about football, but I’m here.”

They both learned quickly, especially because the family was heading out for a three and a half-week holiday to Europe that had been in the planning for two years. “I was turning 50, it was our 25th anniversary and Billy was turning 21 and Joey was turning 19,” Bill said. “It was a big year.”

So we took ownership June 5, left June 7 for basically a month and come back thinking things are more self-running than they are, and that’s when Denise takes over.” The 47-year-old Denise, who worked in sales in the family business, put all the systems in place and within two months, the first players were hitting the ice for training camp.
And it¹s been an eye-opener. The two, fixtures at the games with their seats directly behind the IceDogs bench, are also the team’s biggest fans. They are, however, somewhat surprised with their celebrity status and how well the team has been received.

“There are two demographics,” Denise said. “One is the old-time hockey fans who Bill knew when he was here 30 years ago and loved to come to the games.
They come up to us and thank us every day because (the OHL) is back.
Then there¹s the newbies. Maybe they weren’t around and not quite sure who we were. They’re just right on board and they come up to us every day. They had no idea what it was like before, but they’re glad we came.”

The Burkes, who were involved with a number of charities in their printing business, are more than happy to help out with charities in and around Niagara. They’ve aligned themselves with, among others, the food bank, Big Brothers Big Sisters, the Niagara Regional Police and in an early-season exhibition game, set up donation boxes to help families affected by a fire on Roehampton Avenue. “It was a natural evolution for us,” Denise said. “It¹s an evolution that has been so rewarding for us. Here, we’ve been able to almost get our hands dirty, and that’s been so rewarding.” Bill agreed.
“I had been involved with Variety Village and the Variety Club and I could see the effect of the athletes on the kids. The boys are the celebrities and they want to be involved.”

The two seem to have broken down parochial walls in Niagara and now, some 3,100 people pack Jack Gatecliff Arena for almost every home game. For that, Bill paid tribute to the fans. “It’s pretty easy to criticize the flow of concessions, the flow of the fans and the washrooms, but everybody has bit their lip and not bashed it,” he said. And both haven¹t let the celebrity status go to their heads. “I always have a pocketful of pucks to give to the kids,” Bill said. “I remember going to Maple Leaf Gardens to get a puck and, of course, never got one. I like giving them to kids now because it’s exciting for them.” And it was exciting for the Burkes to be honoured (an honour they obviously never expected).

“It’s hard to believe we’re sportspersons of the year when so many others have worked so hard in the community, but it¹s the community that’s embraced us and checked all the negativity at the door,” Bill said.

“You have (the OHL) here and you can thank your mayor and councillors because they moved very quickly. The whole thing came together and it was refreshing. All we asked was give us a home and we’ll make it work.” The Burkes have put their Aurora home on the market and are having a condo built this summer, when they will become fulltime St. Catharines residents.

And if there were any questions that they have been accepted, those concerns were answered quickly, shortly after the deal was made official. “I was driving back to Toronto and there was a cardboard sign on a telephone pole,” Bill recalled.
“The sign said, Welcome IceDogs. I said to Denise, you know what? This is going to be fun.”