“When I watched that first goal go in I got shivers all over my body, there’s very few experiences like that I’ve had in my life.”
Two years ago, Dario Zulich may have scoffed at the opportunity to head to North Bay to take in a Sudbury Wolves exhibition game.
But now he is like a kid watching the game for the first time.
“My heart hasn’t pounded like that since I was a kid. It’s as if I was playing the game,” said Zulich. “I was in North Bay (and) I jumped on the bus with the team — it was awesome.”
But that could be because he now has quite a vested interest in the team as the new owner of an Ontario Hockey League franchise.
Since purchasing the team, Zulich has been talking about the team not being his alone, but being Sudbury’s, with the Pack being a part of the city, much like the Big Nickel or the Water Tower.
“I’m very proud of the Sudbury Arena, I’m very proud of the City of Greater Sudbury and I’m proud of the Sudbury Wolves — it truly is the spirit of our city. It’s like buying a piece of history,” said Zulich.
Game plan
What type of owner he will be remains to be seen. He is new to the game and trying to get a grasp of the situation while surrounding himself with some strong hockey minds.
He gets that coming out and saying “playoffs,” is not the right approach.
“The people that are around me are telling me that we have a good team and there are good people around me that know hockey,” Zulich said. “So I am going to believe them that the program can only get better. I believe I am starting out with the raw ingredients to hold into a successful program that I know is going to take five years.”
One thing is for sure, in his mind, Zulich said he wants the team to reflect the Nickel City.
“Hockey is a hard-working sport. It’s unbelievable to see these young guys, so that is a reflection of every one of us, their hard work and determination is a reflection of us as Sudburians,” said Zulich.
Surrounding himself with the right people is one thing — and he could be a type of owner who just lets those people handle the operations — but the Pack’s new owner said he will not be someone who sits back and watches. Zulich intends to be all in.
“This is a defining moment in my life, without a doubt. This is a moment of truth and I jumped in with both feet,” he said. “I’ve moved into the Sudbury Arena personally, my office is in the building. I’m all in on this, not just money, but also time and heart and soul.”
And if the experience is lacking, he will be there to change it.
“My job is to connect with the fans, because this is not my teams it’s the city’s team. I’m going to connect with the fans and I’m open to hearing what we could do better about the experience and about the team and I’ll pass information on to our people,” said Zulich.
Rumours
The excitement, the buzz in the city, is clear.
The initial reaction is one of excitement, but then the reaction has turned into a question: Why buy the Sudbury Wolves?
Buying the team months after going public with a proposal for a $60-million multi-use event centre on The Kingsway called True North Strong (led by partners Dario Zulich and Perry Dellelce, see sidebar on Page 3), people wonder about his motivation to buy the team. Is the goal to pressure the city out of having an arena or event centre downtown?
Zulich is aware people are talking, but he said he’s been clear about what he wants to see for the team and the city.
“I have to say I don’t know what I don’t know, but what I do know is from my eyes, our project on The Kingsway seems to be the best for the city and for the organization,” he said. “But if there is a better solution out there that I don’t know of, then I’m all for it and I’d be the first one to get in that line.
“An arena downtown can’t do what our regional event centre can do for the city out there. It physically can’t fit downtown. I’m talking about a complex with 20 acres of free parking — we have opportunities to bolt on a motorsport park, which is another form of entertainment.”
Arena plans and downtown
From his experience as president and CEO of TESC Contracting Company Ltd., and past executive vice president and general manager of Zulich Enterprises, he thinks it’s best not to have too many voices speaking at once.
“I’ve seen too many projects that are riddled with litigation and fighting between owners, contractor, tenant and operator. Having all those parties aligned will get us the quickest, the fastest, the best product. Especially now with the team being in the mix,” said Zulich.
He also comes in with a bit of history with OHL buildings.
“It’s all coming together with a purpose, my ability as a developer, my ability as a constructor because I did a large portion of the build on the Essar Centre (Sault Ste. Marie Greyhounds) and we have a property,” said Zulich.
Then there comes the question of what happens to the city’s downtown, with a revitalization plan in place could the move to The Kingsway cripple the downtown?
“Not at all,” Zulich said. “I’ve done some research, when an event like Cinéfest is on, the downtown restaurants and the downtown is alive. When one part of our city is successful, the whole city is successful.
“I use one analogy: It’s like if you have two holes in a boat, which ones more important? You can’t just concentrate on one and say the other is not important, you need to fix both holes. What we are planning with our event centre, it’s a regional event centre that is something that will change the business dynamics in the city.”
It also isn’t a push away from the downtown core, either.
“Just because I want to build an event centre outside of downtown, doesn’t mean I don’t want a downtown that’s awesome. I’m not ignoring the downtown, I want to build our regional centre and help improve the downtown core,” said Zulich.
He said after the fan reaction and the questions about the his motivations with the event centre, Zulich said he knows there are some who wonder if a battle ensues, would he move the Wolves out of Sudbury?
“A lot of people are afraid that possibly we are going to use this as leverage to possibly move the team — no, that has never been a thought on mind,” he said. “If anything, I want to ensure this team stays in Sudbury. If there’s a better opportunity to improve this city by having the arena downtown and we play in it downtown, I’ll stay there.
“Right now I don’t see it, and I’m hoping that the process the mayor and the council put together can allow us to see what the right move is and lets all move in the right direction together.”
New era
While the deal for a new arena and event centre could take some time, the deal that gave the keys to the Wolves came pretty quick.
Sure, there have been rumours for years that Mark Burgess was looking to sell. But Zulich said the deal was a long process.
“I approached Mark a long time ago to see if he was ever interested in selling the team and he said no. That was over two years ago,” said Zulich. “He kept saying, no and no and no over and over, right up until June. We made a deal and he said no again.
“I called him one last time and finally he said it was time.”
The words “New Era” have been spread around a lot, and rightfully so. The Burgess and Edwards family owned the team for more than 25 years.
As Zulich himself said, the club is a piece of Greater Sudbury’s history.
And now, it’s up to him and the people he surrounds himself with to shepherd the city’s beloved OHL franchise into that new era.
The Wolves open the 2016-2017 season tomorrow night at home against the Oshawa Generals.
