The Titan is sold and will move to Newfoundland

The Acadie-Bathurst Titan announced earlier today that the team has been sold to a trio of investors and will relocate to St. John’s, Newfoundland and Labrador, beginning with the 2025-2026 season.

The finals details were finalized yesterday evening and the agreement with the new ownership group was officially signed.

This brings an end to the sale process that began nearly a year ago, in January 2024, under the supervision of Ernst & Young.

″It’s a sad day, said Titan president Serge Thériault, one of the 11 Titan shareholders. The Titan has been an integral part of the Bathurst community for 27 years. The team gave us great moments and rallied the population. Unfortunately, we were playing in the smallest major junior market in Canada, and attendance dropped over the years. This made it impossible for us, the owners, to continue. I’d like to thank the Titan fans and corporate partners for their support since 1998.″

″I said it last January when the sale process began: The objective of the QMJHL and the Titan owners has always been to find local investors to keep the team in Bathurst, noted Commissioner Mario Cecchini. However, none of the interested groups had any intention of operating the team in Bathurst in the medium term. My heart goes out to the Titan fans. I sympathize and understand their pain and frustration. ″

The new Newfoundland club, owned by John Harvey Patten, John R. Steele and Jason Sharpe, will play at the Mary Brown’s Centre, which opened in 2001 and can accommodate nearly 6,300 fans for a hockey game.

The QMJHL and the Newfoundland team will hold an official press conference in January.