BELLEVILLE — Adjust the scale and it was 1990 all over again.
The giant inflatable archway with the familiar NHL logo around the main door of the Quinte Sports and Wellness Centre. The gathering inside, which started an hour before the scheduled start time — from three rows of politicians to the long line of school kids hanging over a rail, gawking down from one floor above at this long anticipated news conference.
One local guessed attendance to be 1,200, but that might have been a stretch. Either way, the “worst kept secret” that was the announcement of this finalized deal really was a big deal.