Photo courtesy of Kraft Hockeyville website.
The Bashaw Arena has been nominated for the Kraft Hockeyville contest.
Jackie Northey, Executive Director of the Bashaw Adult Learning Council nominated the arena for the contest, and since then, it has turned into a community effort.
“We’re trying to engage the community and inspire them to keep posting, liking, and sharing stories, and submitting photographs,” Northey said.
The grand prize is $250,000 towards arena upgrades, and the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season hockey game.
“Our arena really does need some upgrades, and it’s a considerable amount of money,” Northey said.
The funding would be used to replace the arena boards, upgrade the dressing rooms, and replace the ceiling.
Northey was inspired to nominate Bashaw to ensure that hockey remained viable for the community.
“Our arena is over 50 years old, so if we can raise some funds to do some of the maintenance and upkeep, then we will have an arena that will last quite a few years longer than if we didn't do anything more to it,” she said.
To advance Bashaw in the contest, Central Albertans are encouraged to share stories and photos showcasing what the arena means to them and to the community.
Each story submission, photograph, encouraging note, or reaction earns points.
Judges will review the nominations and select the top four finalists with the highest scores at the beginning of March.
The top four will then compete head-to-head in voting to determine the winner.
“We're pretty excited to keep going and hope to keep the momentum up,” Northey said. “If we make the top four, we will be encouraging people to vote for us.”
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