Tigers will have new broadcaster next season after deciding not to renew contract with De Paoli
By JAMES TUBB on June 22, 2024.
jtubb@medicinehatnews.com@ReporterTubb Medicine Hat Tigers fans will hear a new voice on the airwaves next season. The News has learned the Tigers have not renewed the contract of broadcaster Gino De Paoli. He confirmed the news Thursday but declined to comment further. Medicine Hat Tigers office manager Beth Lanuk spoke with the News on Friday and says the decision to not renew the contract come from the team and broadcast partner CHAT News. She would not say whether it was a reflection of performance or financial reasons. “We work with CHAT and that was just the decision that was made,” Lanuk said. De Paoli was the voice of the Tigers for two seasons, taking over the mic ahead of the 2022-23 season, becoming only the second full-time broadcaster in franchise history. He took over the role after legendary broadcaster Bob Ridley announced his retirement in August 2022. Ridley famously worked all but one game in 52 seasons of Tigers hockey before having to undergo cancer treatment in Lethbridge in the fall of 2021. “He definitely did some great things for the team, I appreciate everything he did for us and I wish him all the best in his future endeavours,” Lanuk said of De Paoli. She says there is no timeline for hiring a new voice of the Tigers and says they have to figure out the future of the position and how it will work. On top of broadcasting all 145 regular season and playoff games during his tenure, De Paoli served as the Tigers’ communications co-ordinator, which included organizing the players being out in the community and taking part in school tours. Under De Paoli’s community guidance, Tigers forward Shane Smith was nominated for the WHL’s humanitarian award this past season. Head coach and general manager Willie Desjardins says he enjoyed working with De Paoli. “I thought Gino was good, he did a good job,” Desjardins said. “There’s a combination of things that must have come together that made it that we needed to go in a different direction.” 16-15
