Summer hockey schools, women’s hockey and booze in the stands. Those are the lynchpins of the Canmore Eagles’ new strategy to pay down its $60,000 debt to the Town of Canmore.
The Eagles brass outlined their new financial plan at the Town of Canmore Committee of the Whole meeting on Tuesday (April 9), stating the club needs to be a 12-month a year business in order to become viable in the Bow Valley.
“We’ve been pretty successful since we asked for deferred payment (on ice time). We feel we’re moving in the direction we need to,” General Manager and Coach Andrew Milne said.
The Eagles reported a successful year financially in 2013, which saw a 25 per cent increase in attendance coupled with a tripling of alcohol revenue. Corporate sponsorship increased by $21,000 and fundraising was also up thanks to a Town party that raised $20,374. The increased revenue will help pay down the $240,000 debt the club faced at the beginning of the season.
With that in mind, the club will ask for more ice time to run summer ventures in Canmore, as Milne stated the club will pay fair market value for that ice. With the summer ice, the Eagles will host seven weeks of spring hockey, focusing on youth, women’s programs and elite skill sets. Their main hockey camp will feature NHL star Patrick Marleau, as well as Eagles alumni Sam Brittain and Kris Foucault.
“The trend is in hockey schools. We realized we had to generate more revenue in non-hockey months,” Milne said. “We anticipate a sellout with these programs.”
After the programs, the team will again come to the Town and discuss how to pay its deferred ice time debt to the Town. The Town makes about $20,000 a year from the Eagles for ice time, but the team requested amnesty from those payments for three years in 2011.
Several out of province hockey camps rent ice in Canmore during the summer. Milne said the Town should consider allowing the Eagles to buy that ice time and keep the cash in the community.
“We feel non-community members are using prime ice time. We’re a local group and we want a little piece of the pie,” Milne said. “Like any business, we’re prepared to be in the market for ice costs. I feel we don’t deserve preferential treatment.”
Mayor John Borrowman asked how this would affect recreational ice users in Canmore. Milne said the Eagles will offer programs for a diverse number of hockey players which will fill that void.
As for increased liquor sales, the Eagles would like to acquire a stadium licence which would allow booze in the stands at Eagles games. Last season, the Town and the Eagles installed a door leading from the bar to the seating area. Milne said that likely helped increase liquour sales. Ensuring fans can have a beer in their seats would mean they wouldn’t have to drink so quickly during intermission.
“Even when our sales tripled, we saw no negative increases. I talked informally with the RCMP and they said they had no stats saying there was more impaired driving in that area,” Milne told council.
The Eagles are the only team in the AJHL without a stadium liquor licence. They must work with the Town to apply for a licence. Milne assured council increased alcohol presence should not take away from the Eagles’ family atmosphere. Attendance at Eagles games has been buoyed by a deal with Canmore Minor Hockey, which allows its members to attend games at a discounted rate.
Council was generally pleased to see the Eagles in a better financial situation, moving away from talk of relocation that plagued the club for two years.
Councillor Hans Helder said “It’s encouraging to see these. It’s affirmation that the team is moving in the right direction and thinking in an entrepreneurial manner.”
Coun. Sean Krausert also said he was pleased to see the club move in the right direction, noting that there is room for growth and a playoff appearance would help.
Borrowman said the Eagles are an asset to the community.
“Clearly, the Eagles have skills in the off-season. It’s great to see the club grow stronger. It’s a great place to see local players play,” he said.
