Eagles flying to Strathmore?
Eagles flying to Strathmore?
Posted 2 years ago
Canmore is in danger of losing of its AJHL franchise.
Management for the Canmore Eagles has estimated a $60,000 deficit for the club following a campaign in which in which only 159 season tickets were sold. Four Alberta communities have approached the Eagles regarding possible relocation of the franchise and Strathmore is one of them.
?A number of communities that don?t have teams make inquiries about getting one,? said AJHL president Craig Cripps. ?Some are serious, some are not so serious.?
When asked if the Strathmore inquiry was a serious one, Cripps responded that it was, but he was also quick to point out that the league is committed to Canmore.
?Canmore is doing everything they can to move forward,? he said. ?We don?t react based on rumour and innuendo. Canmore is still an important part of the AJHL.?
The three other communities rumoured to have made serious inquiries about the Eagles are Cochrane, Dawson Creek, B.C. and Fort Saskatchewan, which has already secured deposits for 500 season tickets should they land a team.
Cripps explained that any potential new AJHL community would need an arena with a seating capacity at or near 1,000. He also indicated that with fuel costs as high as they are, ticket sales are of the utmost importance in keeping a team in the black.
?You need revenue. You need to have butts in the seats,? he said.
With Canmore having sold roughly a mere 160 season tickets for the coming season (as of last Tuesday) Eagles president Al Doll is aware of the progress Canmore needs to make in order to keep the team in town.
?We?re trying to rally our community,? said Doll. ?We?re trying to determine if we?re a team that?s viable in Canmore.?
The Eagles were set to hold an open house on Monday night in order to help gauge the future of the team.
?It?s a publicly-owned team, so it?s up to the community to give a thumbs up or thumbs down,? explained Doll before Monday?s meeting. ?We?re hoping they give us the thumbs up.?
Doll went on to explain that the club would have to reassess their situation at the end of May.
?If we don?t have a good feeling about having a full house for the home opener we?ll have to look at the next step,? he said.
-With files from the Canmore Leader
