Princeton could be Hockeyville
While the $250,000 arena upgrade that comes with being named Kraft Hockeyville 2022 would be nice, Princeton’s mayor is equally excited about how a win might lift the flood-battered community’s sprits.
“It would be a huge boost to our morale, if nothing else. Just to have a win right now would be so beneficial,” said Spencer Coyne in an interview Monday, two days after Princeton was named as one of four finalists for the honour.
The town of approximately 3,000 people is up against three communities in eastern Canada that are all vying for the top prize of a $250,000 arena upgrade and a chance to host an NHL pre-season game. The runners-up will each receive $10,000 worth of new equipment for their minor hockey programs, courtesy of the NHL Players’ Association’s Goals & Dreams fund.
The winner will be selected through online voting from 6 a.m. (PDT) on May 5 to 2 p.m. on May 7, and announced on that evening’s edition of CBC Hockey Night in Canada.
Finalists were selected by the program based on their nomination stories and community organizers’ abilities to get out the vote.
None of the Princeton organizers was available to comment Monday, but the town’s story is particularly poignant, given nearby wildfires of summers past and flooding last fall that caused an estimated $50 million in damage to public and private infrastructure.
While the 48-year-old Princeton and District Arena was largely spared by the floods, the disaster sucked up funding required to repair the 500-seat rink’s roof, which is currently covered in places by tarps that are held down by tires.
“It’s been a growing issue. We thought we had it all patched up, sealed it, then went over it all. Then the bloody rain come and everything started leaking again,” said Coyne, who believes ice buildup is partly to blame for the trouble.
“We’re looking at $50 million in damages and repairs right now (for the town as a whole), so $250,000 is extra that we just don’t have.”
The other communities in the running for Kraft Hockeyville 2022 are: Douro-Dummer, Ont.; SaintJean-sur-Richelieu, Que.; and Sydney, N.S.
Lumby, in 2016, was the last B.C. community to win. All of the winners since then have been located in Ontario and farther east.
This is the 16th edition of the campaign, which has now plunged $4 million into communities across Canada.