The Junior A hockey team shot up its billet pay from $350 to $500 per month, "easily the most in the league", in a crucial attempt to woo potential billet families in housing its 16- to 20-year-old male players in the aggressive Bow Valley rental market.
"I think for us, increasing the dollar value was our way of saying 'listen, this is how desperate we are,'" said Andrew Milne, Eagles head coach and general manager.
"I just think we're in a really competitive market for housing. That's part of Canmore's challenge, the competitive market is difficult ... Not everyone understands our situation in Canmore and bedrooms are expensive."
A quick scroll through Facebook marketplace shows current rental prices in the Bow Valley for one bedrooms in a shared living setting bottom out at $700 and soar as high as $1,300 per month.
The average cost for shared living/roommate is $834 in Banff and $844 in Canmore based on listings from August 2020 to January 2021 in the Job Resource Centre's Labour Market Review.
The Eagles are in need of eight to 10 beds and hotel rooms and staff accommodations are out of the equation, said Milne.
On top of the 43 per cent increase in pay monthly for billets, the Eagles are offering a 15 per cent discount card at Save-On-Foods; season tickets to all Eagles games – including playoff games – and other discounts at local businesses.
Milne said he'd like to end any negative perceptions about taking on a player, who he said are a benefit and contribute to their billet families.
"It definitely is not the demand people think it is," said Milne. "These are older kids, who are mature, high-performance athletes and they understand what the situation looks like ... these kids are not here to party, they're here to improve their studies and then their athletics and move on and get college scholarships."
He added at least 95 per cent of current players on the roster are vaccinated. In a previous interview with the Outlook, Milne said players "need to be vaccinated in order to come to town."
Eagles training camp begins Aug. 31 and the Alberta Junior A Hockey League preseason begins Sept. 6.
The puck drops for the regular season on Sept. 17 when Canmore takes on the Olds Grizzlys in an away game.
On Sept. 18, the Eagles face off against the Calgary Canucks in the home opener at 7 p.m.
Season tickets are expected to be available in mid-August.
For more information on billeting, contact Barb Costley at [email protected] or by phone at 403-813-3057.
