Canmore’s Rec Centre will host the next two ATB Alberta Cups that are held each year to identify the top male bantam aged hockey players from around the province.
Canmore Business and Tourism bid on the Hockey Alberta event for 2015 and 2016 and spokesperson Larry Gale said the group was successful.
As the premier event for the Western Hockey League, Gale said up to 170 scouts will be on hand as they prepare for the league’s bantam draft, which is the following week in Calgary.
“Canmore went out and we had the opportunity from the success of the Alberta Winter Games to look at opportunities to host such an event in the hockey world,” he said. “We will be using the Canmore Rec Centre and will need the entire facility for this event.”
The Alberta Cup runs April 21-26 and Gale asked council to consider waiving fees associated with the exclusive use of the Rec Centre based on the economic impact the event will have.
“We will be bringing in 300 to 400 families, as well as athletes,” he said. “The exposure for the Town of Canmore as a tournament host is really amazing.
“The event potential of this going forward has a lot of strengths, not just with the WHL, but for hockey tournaments and sports in general.”
Based on a 2010 economic impact study, Gale said they expect a minimum of $500,000 direct spending in the community. He said the event is a potential opportunity for an off-season economic driver and even the AJHL has approached Canmore as a spot to hold its draft as well.
He said any positive revenues from the event up to $20,000 would be returned to the municipality and money left from that would be for non-profit hockey initiatives.
Council will decide on the request at a future meeting, however, Mayor John Borrowman said the proposal seems “a little bit like a cart before the horse kind of thing.
“It ties the hands of council after the fact instead of asking beforehand,” he said. “I think it is an interesting possibility, but it seems to me, from a process perspective, this request should have come to council before.”
The in-kind value of the requested ice time is $38,212 based on existing out-of-town rental rates.
The Alberta Cup is comprised of eight teams from around the province playing round-robin games, a semi-final and a final. In total, there are 20 games played and each year close to 1,000 players try out in their respective zones.
Each player in the cup is competing for one of 80 invites to the U16 male provincial camp in July, which is the final stage in the first year of the Team Alberta program.
Gale said a steering committee for the event was formed with membership from the Canmore Eagles, the Town of Canmore and Collins Barrow. He added the Eagles had to waive their AJHL rights for the event to happen in Canmore and the committee is also working with Canmore Minor Hockey.
Gale said the ice is available for the event, otherwise CBT would not have put a bid forward.
