The owner of the Lewiston Maineiacs hockey team has confirmed plans to move the team from Maine to Montreal for the 2009-2010 season.

An official relocation application was submitted this evening to the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League office in Boucherville, Quebec, according to an announcement from team owner and CEO Mark Just.

"This was an extremely difficult decision, and it has taken me until today to finally come to terms with it," Just said in the written announcement. "We have such an unbelievable core base of fans, sponsors, and volunteers. I can't thank them enough for their support over the past five and a half seasons."

Despite its loyal fan base, Just said the team never attracted the numbers of spectators to the Colisee that it needed.

"Our business model was based on an average attendance of 3,000 spectators per game, something that was never achieved even during our remarkable President Cup championship season in 2006-2007," he said. "At its pinnacle, we had close to 2,000 season ticket holders, along with sponsorship and group sales revenue that exceeded budgeted expectations. However, our casual fan base never reached expectations, resulting in the team operating substantially in the red since its inception."

Just said he was motivated by his passion for the game, but "at some point I had to bring myself to the realization that we simply cannot continue to subsidize this team indefinitely considering it has not once broken even over the past six seasons. Unfortunately, for everyone involved, that time has come."

Filing the application is the first step in the relocation process, he said. The league's owners will meet to discuss the issue and vote whether to approve the move.

If approved as expected, the franchise will relocate to Boisbriand, a community on the northwest side of Montreal. The team's home arena will be the Centre d'Excellence sur Glace, a new 3,500-seat facility that is currently under construction.