CANMORE – The Canmore Eagles will have to pay back its debt, with Town council opting not to waive the Junior A hockey club’s $67,450.08 in unpaid rental fees.
However, the news isn't all broken eggs for the Eagles, which now has more room to spread its wings and re-pay the sum in portions by 2028.
Darryl Lockwood, president of the Eagles, said the goal was to have the entire debt wiped off, but he thinks the organization and Town walked away with “a good mutual agreement” following Tuesday’s (Aug. 20) decision.
“I understand from a perception-wise, the councillors, if they're doing that for one [organization], then they're worried and concerned that then they need to do it for all, right? So I get that,” said Lockwood.
“I’m happy. We had a bill to be paid on September 15 for $67,000 and, you know, that would have been very hard to come up with, if not impossible, so we got that extended … and that helps.”
Prior to the Eagles’ debt-wiping request in July to council, the hockey club was due to pay the full amount by Sept. 15. Now, however, under the new arrangement, the Eagles will pay a minimum of $10,000 at that date instead. After which, no interest will be charged on the remaining debt, and the club will pay a minimum of 25 per cent of the principal owing each year starting in 2025.
The motion was unanimously approved by council following a lengthy in camera session.
“I believe this is an incredibly generous offer to the hockey club to extend a debt over 17 years and I look forward to seeing, as a citizen, this being paid off,” said councillor Joanna McCallum.
Since 2011, the Eagles and Town have been in a repayment agreement to have the club pay back more than $150,000 in accrued ice-time rental debt.
Most recently, in 2018, the Town and Eagles agreement was in place for the club to pay off its, at the time, more than $127,000 remaining debt by September 2024.
However, earlier this summer, Lockwood appeared before council and requested the club’s debt be thrown out in lieu of potential projects and upgrades at the Alex Kaleta Arena inside the Canmore Recreation Centre that could benefit the community.
Despite the Eagles’ debt not being erased with the Town, Lockwood said the club won’t have any foreseeable operational cutbacks.
“We're not out of the woods, but we're not drowning either,” he said. “It is something we have been able to manage and we can manage under our current budget, put it that way.”
The repayment agreement is entirely unique between the Town and the Eagles, with administration noting there isn’t another group that has a similar arrangement.
Couns. Wade Graham and Tanya Foubert voiced strong reluctance for the municipality to engage in similar agreements moving forward.
“I know there is some talk out there about expectations and … what we have to do is make a decision in the best interest of our community and that’s twofold,” said Foubert. “It’s supporting our community groups and it’s also making sure that the money that taxpayers are owed is paid back.”
Jumbotron screen likely not in the works
During Lockwood’s appearance in front of council on July 2, the Eagles president said one of the community benefits that the Eagles were looking into was adding an info screen/mini jumbotron inside Alex Kaleta Arena.
However, don’t expect an Eagles kiss cam on the big screen anytime soon. Administration noted that “structural loading tests indicate that there is limited capacity to increase load on the ceiling/walls. It may not be desirable to add a jumbotron or similar type of display.”
Lockwood said the Eagles are now shifting toward getting better camera broadcast equipment for games, including above the net cameras that the Alberta Junior A Hockey League wants to pilot test for instant replays at the goal line.
The Eagles home opener is Sept. 13 against the AJHL champion Calgary Canucks. Puck drop is 7 p.m.
Canmore will also host Scotiabank Hockey Day in Canada in January 2025, which features a live broadcast from Sportsnet, games, and stories of hockey from across the country.
