Let the Players Play!

Transcription

1 Council Meeting Date: Nov 25, 2008 Agenda Item #: 18.4 Sherwood Park Minor Hockey Association Let the Players Play! Report of the Arena Surface Availability Committee (ASAC) March 2008 Document #: Legislative Legal Services

2 ASAC Goal To propose solutions to the current and projected shortage of multi-use arena surfaces for ice hockey, ringette, figure skating, lacrosse and inline hockey in Strathcona County. Arena Surface Users Current user groups include: Sherwood Park Minor Hockey Association (including Kings Athletic Club) Strathcona Minor Hockey Association Ardrossan figure skating Josephburg figure skating Josephburg minor hockey Sherwood Park figure skating Sherwood Park ringette Sherwood Park Titans Lacrosse Association Spinline (Sherwood Park Inline) 3 rd party user groups include (indoor soccer, indoor ball hockey, developmental skating programs (learn to skate, power skating, skills clinics, 3 on 3 etc) and other hard surface users, by way of example Cadets for marching drill work etc. Problem Total hours of large ice (does not include Broadmoor or the small ice at Strathcona Olympiette Centre) available in Strathcona County for the winter season is 11,762. Demand by large ice users, based on registration (last season) and standards of play, is 11,966 hours, a shortfall of +/- 200 hours. This does not include ice required by the Sherwood Park Junior A Crusaders or for any and all voluntary or appointed tournaments, Hockey Alberta special events (e.g. jamborees), Edmonton Minor Hockey Week, provincial Further implications of the shortage include a significant reduction in the ice available for our youngest of user groups ( Initiation One and Two programs, ages 4-7) which has seen a 35% drop in ice time over the last 4 years. Taken together, there is in excess of a 1,200 hour shortfall in ice availability this year. Summer users, including lacrosse and inline hockey, report similar shortages. Further to this and outside of the formalized programs, alternative user groups including: 3 rd party hockey development programs have been forced to either relocate to other regions (New Sarepta, Fort Saskatchewan and Edmonton) or cancel programs entirly. Given these shortages, Strathcona County no longer has the ability to host major events, including Provincial finals, Major Bantam and Major Midget events and International events such as the Women s World Championships, without severely affecting current surface users. More importantly, children enrolled in sports that require arena surface play, do not receive adequate surface time necessary to achieve player development, optimal health benefits and value for their recreation dollar. 1

3 This problem is illustrated by the following points: In the past five years, the average ice time per minor hockey player has dropped by approximately 0.5 to 1 hour per week, while fees have continued to increase. For example, in SPMHA, our initiation program has experienced a 35% drop in ice availability in the past four years, due to increased enrollment. This dropping value has been noticed by our sports families. Unlike smaller communities, where all minor hockey teams have the opportunity to participate in provincials, SPMHA has had to restrict participation to selected and limited top-tier teams. Last year, SPMHA had to decline the opportunity for our female hockey teams to participate in provincials, due to the arena surface shortage. Provincial playoffs are no longer an option for Atom and Pee Wee aged players (ages eight to eleven). This has created an unintended elitist focus, where only top teams in selected divisions are eligible for provincial play. This problem will only get worse over the short term. In the season, we had anticipated that children enrolled in SPMHA programs would not meet the standards of play for house league that are targeted for recreation programs in Strathcona County. For example, Projections indicated that if we add two more teams to our Novice program (i.e. from 16 teams to 18 and total registration at 240 players.) with a maximum roster of 15 players (standard of play is 12 to 15) and eliminate shared practice ice, ice time per player would fall below the 2 hours per week standard. The reality is that our Novice program expanded to 21 teams with registration of 320 players over the previous year s registration of 240 players. Initiation, Novice and Atom will be forced to cap its registration for the season. In summary, demand for arena surfaces has outstripped supply this year and the problem will continue to grow as the population of Strathcona County grows. The quickest we can respond to this increasing demand is two to three years. That means children and other arena surface users in Strathcona County will have to accept belowstandard play or program caps until the situation can be adequately addressed. Drivers The current and projected shortage of multi-use arena surfaces is driven by a number of factors, which include: The population in Sherwood Park and rural Strathcona County is growing, with over 3,000 new residents moving to the area in each of 2006 and The projected growth rate for Strathcona County is 20% per year for the next five years. Given that many of the people coming to our area are young families, we can anticipate a similar increase in demand for sports that require arena surface play. 2

4 This projected growth does not include plans for a growth node in the County which could add as many as 100,000 people. Our present arena facilities will be completely inadequate to meet the associated increase in demand. At least 70% of arena surfaces in the Edmonton region were constructed prior to These arenas require ongoing and intensive maintenance and some arenas are being decommissioned. This reality is putting additional strain on available ice in Strathcona County, as our Edmonton partners are increasingly asking SPMHA to help meet the need for ice for interlocked league play and events such as Minor Hockey Week. The Children s Fitness Tax Credit, a tax credit for registration fees paid by parents for physical activity programs, is expected to encourage increased enrollment in sports like ice hockey, lacrosse and in-line hockey. Strathcona County is affected by the Oilers Effect, that is, the 2006 Stanley Cup run and the ongoing the presence of an NHL team in the region inspires children to enroll in hockey. NHL hockey, with it focus on fair play and less violence is attracting a wider audience and parents are now more likely to consider hockey as a sport for their children that they would have been in the past. Not only is demand for arena surface sports increasing among traditional users (i.e. boys), we are seeing major increases in demand from female athletes for hockey, ringette, lacrosse and inline hockey. The Long-term Athletic Development Model developed by Athletics Canada, and the growing focus on activities that contribute to life-long health, are changing how we view sport. It is no longer seen as simply a childhood activity a moment in time but, rather, something to be pursued throughout life. As this model takes hold, we can anticipate even greater demand for arena surfaces. Immediate Term Solution SPMHA has attempted to cope with the shortage of arena surfaces with stop-gap solutions such as shared practices and larger rosters. In the ice hockey season: Children in the Initiation (4-6 years) and Novice (7-8 years) divisions were required to share ice for 95% of practices. Approximately half of Atom division (9-10 years) practices were shared and even some Peewee teams (11-12 years) shared practices to increase access to ice. 3

5 Some SPMHA and SMHA divisions were forced to increase roster size to 19 players from the optimum 15 players. Specific teams have elected to use outdoor ice facilities to supplement their ice needs which has created frustration for the drop in or shinny player as he or she watches the prime time ice being allocated to large user groups. In the season, SPMHA will continue to use these measures to manage demand for arena surface. In particular, we anticipate a significant increase in shared practices for all divisions up to and including Atom and more teams at or beyond maximum roster size. More significantly, SPMHA anticipates that it will have to cap its programs for the first time in the County s history. Children will be served on a firstcome, first served basis. All others will be turned away. Although shared ice increases the number of practices available to players, it decreases the quality of those practices for individual and team development (primarily at Atom and up). Similarly, increased roster size enables the association to accommodate larger numbers of players, but further decreases individual ice time thus directly compromising the development of our young players. 4

6 Recommendations Short-term (ready for season) 1. Upgrade existing outdoor facilities Sherwood Park has a number of outdoor ice surfaces that could be further developed for multi-use by ice hockey, ringette, figure skating, lacrosse and inline hockey. These include Strathcona Athletic Park (which already has a multi-use concrete surface), Kinsmen, Sherwood Heights and Brentwood Heights. SPMHA already block books some of these rinks for use by its house teams but availability is limited by public use and weather conditions. Proposed upgrades include: Pouring a concrete playing surface (for multi-use and to extend the ice season); Adding sheltered bleachers (shed-style roof); Providing appropriate flooring to access ice from existing change rooms; and Increasing cage height for lacrosse and inline usage. We further recommend the construction of a second multi-use surface at SAP that mirrors the existing facility and includes the proposed upgrades, maximizing on the existing heated change room. In addition, the Kinsmen outdoor rink needs to be expanded, as the currently facility is too narrow and out of proportion with traditional rink surfaces. Table: Summary of Renovations/Upgrades Required by Outdoor Rinks Pour concrete flooring Build/reno vate benches and roof Flooring from change rooms Increase netting height Install/ upgrade lighting Strathcona Athletic Park X X X X Kinsmen X X X X X X Sherwood Heights X X X X X Brentwood X X X X X Other 2. Upgrade Broadmoor Arena The Broadmoor arena is used exclusively by the SPMHA Initiation program and provides additional practice ice for our Novice and Atom divisions. The current ice plant at the Broadmoor Arena is in acceptable condition. It was recently rebuilt and, based on conservative projections, should continue to operate for another 10 to 15 years, at minimum. In addition, SPMHA recently replaced the 18-year-old, gas-powered ice resurfacer. To ensure the arena continues to meet current and future demand, we recommend that the facility receive the following upgrades: Pour a concrete floor. A concrete floor will reduce the costs of ice maintenance on the current dirt floor, as it will require only ¾ of ice versus the current 2 of 5

7 ice, making it cheaper to run the ice plant. It will also be an easier surface to fix in the event of a problem. A concrete floor will make Broadmoor a year-round, multi-use facility that will generate additional revenue from and meet the needs of other user groups (lacrosse and inline hockey). The facility is currently vacant over the summer months. Renovate existing boards and netting (surrounding cage) to meet the requirements of other user groups (i.e. lacrosse and inline hockey). Renovate front entrance and change rooms to accommodate year-round use by different user groups. The current change rooms are small with poor ventilation and do not meet County standards. Medium-term (ready for season) 3. Add Olympic sized Arena surface sheet to Ardrossan Add additional large sheet of ice as per Open Spaces plan AND ensure the existing ice is not turned down while the additional sheet is built. 4. Create new 2/3rds ice facility. Covert one of the exiting curling facilities ( Ardrossan or SOC) to a Broadmoor style arena surface. 5. Build additional outdoor arenas in selected, currently underserved communities in Sherwood Park. Facilities should meet the specifications described in Recommendation 1. Long-term (ready for season) 6. Develop a hockey-focused multi-use facility with four multi-use/ice surfaces at launch and capacity to add incremental surfaces, as required, to a total of eight surfaces. 7. Build a stadium-style arena that could accommodate our junior team and other highprofile teams and events (e.g. Edmonton Oil Kings, World Juniors, Female World Championships Opportunities 1. Government Programs Community Facility Enhancement Program The program provides matching grants to municipalities, Indian Bands and Metis Settlements, and registered community non-profit groups to build, purchase, repair, renovate, or otherwise improve related family and community wellness facilities. 6

8 Community Initiatives Program Will support project-based initiatives in areas such as community services, seniors services, libraries, arts and culture, sports, education, health and recreation. The maximum grant will be $75,000 per project per year, and applications can be submitted anytime throughout the year Canada-Alberta Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund's (CAMRIF) CAMRIF s goal is to help residents in Alberta s small urban centres and rural municipalities enjoy a quality of life that's second, through investments thatenhance and renew Alberta s public infrastructure, support long-term economic growth and build strong, sustainable communities by giving municipalities the tools they need. SPMHA has already initiated a Facilities Funds to share in the cost of the above initiatives. 2. Potential Partnerships A number of public-private and private solutions to the arena surface shortage have been proposed in the Edmonton region. However, restrictive municipal policies have severely limited the perceived benefit to private partners, which has effectively scared off investors. These policies and community-openness to P3 s and private solutions needs to be reviewed. Conclusion Our goal is to provide our children and communities with sufficient multi-use facilities that will enable them to meet standards of play, achieve individual and team goals, and develop a life-long love for sport that will help them realize optimal life-long health. Strathcona County has long-demonstrated its commitment to sport, health and wellness. We are proposing an opportunity to take that commitment to the next level and create a lasting legacy for the County. Contact: K. Adrian Belcourt Phone: Cell: kbel@telus.net 7