Lumbard Excited to be Part of Pats' Ownership

Bruce Luebke has the following story on his blog which you can check out here: Luber's Lounge

Lumbard Excited to be Part of Pats' Ownership

Former Brandonite and Wheat King Todd Lumbard will have a prominent role in the new ownership group of the Western Hockey League's Regina Pats.

The sale of the Pats was officially approved by the WHL's Board of Governors Wednesday, with the new ownership group in Regina is headed by local businessman Anthony Marquart.

Other members of the Queen City Sports and Entertainment group include Lumbard and fellow Regina businessmen Gavin Semple, Shaun Semple, and Jason Drummond.

"I don't think that desire to be involved in hockey ever leaves someone. After playing hockey, it's been something that I've always desired to get back into and this was a dream of mine to be an owner in this league," said Lumbard on Wednesday, "Having this opportunity, I just feel so fortunate to be part of it and, for me, it's very exciting to be involved in the game of hockey in such an interesting way. I'm looking forward to re-engaging myself with hockey. It's something I've missed being part of for the last several years."

Lumbard's role with the Pats will be more than part of the ownership group, as the 50-year old will taking over as Team President.

"I will be spending a fair bit of time with the Pats as President. Of course, we'll have a general manager that really will conduct the day-to-day business, but I'll be the direct contact between the general manager and the ownership group," said Lumbard, "I'm really looking forward to being involved, in more than just as an owner, being somewhat involved in the operations of the club."

The negotiations to purchase the Pats took over a year, with the sale expected to officially close by the end of May.

In the meantime, Lumbard expects to begin his duties as Team President immediately.

"First things for us is getting to know the people in the organization, right from our general manager all the way through, learning about how they operate and what they do. And then moving forward with some of the plans we have in conjunction with our staff team to implement some of the things that we want to do," said Lumbard, "We have an ownership group that is very strongly invested in the community of Regina, which we hope bodes well for corporate sponsorship involvement and, also, season tickets sales, interest in the team and those type of things."

The price tag for the Pats was reportedly 7.5 million dollars.