Club: Financial 'Reality' Drove Metal Jackets from Trenton

Trenton has lost the city’s Junior A hockey team, the .

The organization , moving operations to Jamestown, NY, and becoming the Jamestown Ironmen—the North American Hockey League’s newest entity.

The move, according to NAHL Commissioner Mark Frankenfeld, was nothing against the community, but more about the economics of running a sports franchise.

“The NAHL was proud to have a team in the Detroit area,” Frankenfeld said. “But from a league perspective, we want our clubs to have the best chance to provide the best opportunity to these boys. The Detroit-area has been difficult to have a fan-driven club and have it be financially viable. It’s nothing personal, or nothing against the city or the area, it’s just the reality.”

Trenton Mayor Gerald Brown said the Jackets have another four years remaining on their contract with the city and expects a cash settlement from Jackets' administration by early next week.

Brown would not reveal the value of the settlement because negotiations are under way.

"I don’t know what the provisions will be," Brown said. "Sometimes when you settle there is a request by the parties for a nondisclosure. So far that isn’t in the negotiations, but you never know."

If either Trenton or the Jackets' administration requests a nondisclosure in the contract, the dollar amount of the settlement likey won't be made public.

Money may be behind the move, but sentiment among Trenton hockey fans is mixed to the team’s move.

“I went to a few games,” Trenton resident Mark Dunbar, 39, said. “But I really think this is a high school hockey town, not a Junior A-type town. I’m sad to see them go, I guess, but I don’t think I’ll miss them.”

Doug Crutchfield, 25, never attended a Metal Jackets’ game during the team’s tenure in Trenton, but says that’s not entirely his fault.

“I don’t think they did a real good job making the team appealing,” Crutchfield said. “I look at how baseball teams do it, and I think they do a better job of making it fan-oriented.” 

Self-proclaimed hockey nut Stephan Bidwell, 29, says he’ll miss the chance to attend the games, but thinks the club could’ve done some things differently—things that might have made a difference.

“I think they came in here thinking the hockey alone would sell it,” Bidwell said. “It doesn’t here. We can watch great hockey with the high school team and the Red Wings down the road. We have pride in those teams. We never had any pride in this team because they didn’t get enough local guys, and they didn’t stick around long enough to build a following. To me, that’s why it didn’t work here.”

Trenton Parks and Recreation Director Patrick Hawkins says the move came as a total surprise.

“It was a surprise to the city,” Hawkins said. “It was obviously a business decision for them, but it did come as a surprise to us.”

The Metal Jackets organization had asked the city for a five-year contract to play at , which the city agreed to when the team came to Trenton last year. 

Now, after honoring just one year of this deal, the club has left town.

Former star Metal Jacket and Trenton resident Jon Wilson said he had a good experience with the Jackets.

"I met kids from all over the country and it was awesome to be able to play at the top level," Wilson said. "Playing at home was awesome too. Overall, for me it was really good experience."

Wilson said he would not be following the team to Jamestown, NY, because he is no longer eligible to play in the league. The league has an age limit of 20 years old and Wilson turns 21 this year.