By Dominic Abassi

Council considers outdoor rink, $320K budget for Hometown Hockey stop in Nanaimo

Nov 25, 2016 | 10:52 PM

NANAIMO — City council is considering spending more than $300,000 to take advantage of what a staff report calls a “legacy opportunity” when Rogers Hometown Hockey visits Nanaimo next year.

This week council approved a $122,000 budget for a week full of festivities and events to surround the Sportsnet broadcast that will stop at Maffeo Sutton Park on Feb. 25 and 26. The biggest ticket items in the budget are a $25,000 traditional Snuneymuxw salmon feast planned for the Wednesday night and a $30,000 fireworks show to close out the event on Sunday.

“The event itself is probably estimated at $750,000 to $950,000 worth of broadcast play across the country,” said Coun. Bill Bestwick, who is the chair of the organizing committee. “We don’t have to do anything if we chose not to…but this event in and of itself, we’re creating a legacy piece.”

A city staff report states the organizing committee is looking for ways to maximize the opportunity to showcase Nanaimo on the national stage and the benefits will outweigh the costs.

Coun. Jerry Hong said he is very excited for the event, but voiced concerns over the city covering the entire bill.

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“I see we have a large contingent of local organizing committees that have organizations or agencies that are interested, but no where on this do I see them putting any money in it,” said Hong.

He said it’s hard for him to accept the total budget when it has not been shown where grants or sponsorships are coming from. Hong said he didn’t like that the budget “spilled all the beans” on what the city was willing to pay.

“You’re telling everybody out there you’re willing to spend $3,000 on toilets, $3,000 on tents,” he said.

Director of parks and rec Richard Harding told Hong they are working on getting sponsors on board but they are on a tight timeline so they needed to get approval for the budget.

“I think this is going to be a great event for the city of Nanaimo. If you look at a cost benefit, I think the benefit would probably be 10 times the cost,” said Coun. Gord Fuller.

But the main attraction of the event is yet to be approved.

Next Monday, council will debate a staff report recommending that they approve $200,000 for the rental of an outdoor skating rink to be setup for two weeks at Maffeo Sutton around the event. The report states the inclusion of the rink would “bring the community together and create a lasting memory.”

The report states the feature will also give staff and council insights on future possibilities for outdoor skating facilities. An estimated purchase cost of $565,000 is listed in the report.

Not approving the rink means “we will not be creating a City engagement activity to participate in during the Rogers Hometown Hockey Festival”, according to the report.

The Hometown Hockey visit comes with a free festival on both Saturday and Sunday, with a virtual autograph tent, alumni locker room and the live broadcast from the mobile studio. The broadcast will feature various features on Nanaimo, including a Hometown Must and local stories.