Penticton Herald Staff Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Penticton Minor Hockey Association says it may be forced to cancel its host tournaments next season, as it negotiates ice time costs and availability at the South Okanagan Events Centre. PMHA president Bruce Judd said Monday the tournaments could be cancelled to allow for more regular season game time. However, he noted the cancellation remains tentative, as minor hockey continues to talk to the city. The tournament dates remain open, but have not yet been booked. Judd said minor hockey has requested 600 hours at the community rink - identical to what it received last season. So far, only 200 hours have been booked, mainly involving Saturday ice times. Judd admitted the tournament cancellation is not a done deal just yet, pending the results of negotiations with the city. He acknowledged it is being used as a bargaining chip in negotiations with the city. “It‘s a drastic move,” he said. “We‘re just trying to force an issue for all the years to come.” “None of us can understand, if you subsidized it last year, why can‘t you subsidize it this year?” Minor hockey already has 12 tournaments scheduled for 2009-10. Judd said with dozens of visiting teams and hundreds of hotel nights, that has a significant economic impact. Minor hockey estimates the tournaments generate about $2.9 million to the local economy.
Judd said the 600 hours minor hockey booked at the community rink last year were at a subsidized rate of $120 per hour. This compares to 1,500 hours at Memorial Arena for $71 an hour and roughly the same rate at McLaren Park Arena. Full ice costs at the community rink range from $145 to $150 an hour. However, faced with a deficit which could exceed $1 million for the SOEC, Memorial Arena and the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, city council is now looking to increase revenues. Council discussed the ice time issue last week and postponed a final decision to its Aug. 4 meeting to allow for further review. At issue, how much the city should subsidize the ice costs for minor hockey. Continuing the subsidy level at the community rink would cost the city an extra $38,000. Coun. Andrew Jakubeit, who also serves as past-president of Penticton Minor Hockey, suggested the city split the subsidy into two budget years. A fall subsidy of $19,000 would be included in the 2009 budget, while the remaining $19,000 would be budgeted for 2010. Meanwhile, Judd fears Aug. 4 may be too late. He suggested Global Spectrum, which manages the SOEC and Memorial Arena, may have already booked the remaining ice times to other organizations by then. However, that suggestion was denied Monday by Curtis Webb, general manager of Global Spectrum‘s Penticton operations. Webb said all ice time bookings for the SOEC community rink and Memorial Arena are on hold until the issue is decided by council. “We are in a holding pattern right now, of booking any ice times,” he said. “We have not contracted anybody‘s ice times for 2009-10 season.” The only confirmed times at the community rink are home games for the Penticton Lakers of the Kootenay International Junior (B) Hockey League. Webb said no further bookings will be made until after city council decides how handle the ice time issue with minor hockey. He said even if council doesn‘t make a decision until Aug. 4, there will still be time to confirm ice times with all user groups. Webb said Global Spectrum subsidized minor hockey times at the community rink last year without the approval of city council. Judd said he‘s been told that council plans a special meeting this week to discuss the issue. However, that could not be confirmed Monday by City Hall staff.
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