BARRHEAD - The Barrhead Bombers are hoping the municipality will be able to help the franchise grow and succeed.
On Aug. 9, a delegation from the Bombers, including owner/general manager Aly Virani, head coach Mario Haase and team manager Cindy Vanderiet visited the town council to introduce themselves and the team, as well as to ask councillors to look for ways the municipality could support the franchise.
Later in the meeting, councillors instructed administration to work with Bombers' management to find ways the municipality could help the franchise.
The Bombers are a Tier II Junior 'A' hockey team. They first came to town in 2019, when the Western States Hockey League's (WSHL) commissioner and owner of the Long Beach Bombers, Ron White, relocated the franchise, citing high American ice rental costs as the reason for the move.
Virani, an Edmonton-based property, investment and hospitality entrepreneur and general manager of the Barrhead Inn and Suites, took over ownership of the franchise before the start of the 2021-2022 season.
Midway through the season, Virani and the rest of the WSHL's provincial division split away to create the Canadian-American Junior Hockey League (CAJHL), a move that shuttered their former league. There are currently five teams in the CAJHL.
Benefits of junior hockey in Barrhead
"Having the team and junior hockey in Barrhead is a positive thing for the community," Virani said. "Not all communities are fortunate enough to have a junior team."
He added that in addition to creating "amazing opportunities for many young men in the area", the Bombers and the league provide many benefits to the community and its residents, saying the team adds to Barrhead's economy.
Virani also said the Bombers hope to work with the Barrhead Minor Hockey Association (BMHA) to develop an option for hockey players who have aged out of minor hockey and are looking for college, semi-pro and professional opportunities.
Virani added there are tangible economic benefits that come with having a junior hockey franchise in a community.
He noted that every season 15 or more players are billeted with local families.
"Each player gives $500 a month to their billet families," Virani said. "That works out to over $50,000 to local families over the season."
In addition, Virani estimated that the Bombers players spend another $250 a month at local businesses, not including the economic activity the incoming teams generate.
He also noted that does not include the money the franchise spends, such as renting the town's facilities (most notably for ice-time, which the Bombers pegged at $20,000) or other services.
"As our team builds its name, our goal is to target the outlying areas to Barrhead and encourage them to participate in the culture of the Bombers ... promoting industry on game nights," he said, singling out how having a junior team increases tourism during the hockey season.
Virani added the Bombers' are looking into purchasing a bus, saying if they do, they hope to make it available to local organizations at a reduced rate.
Asks of the town
Virani then switched the conversation to ways the municipality could help the franchise remain viable, specifically mentioning ice rental fees.
"We’re seeing if we could get similar ice rates to minor hockey," he said. "We know that in some of the small towns, during the day when the ice is available, that ice is usually made available to the junior hockey team at minimal cost or no cost."
It is worth mentioning that under the Town of Barrhead's Policy 72-002, non-primetime ice from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. (which is the majority of the Bombers' ice-time), is available at a reduced rate of $84 per hour. The rate for minor sports (hockey, figure skating, ringette, et cetera) to get ice time before 9 a.m. is $94.30 per hour, while the primetime after-school rental for minor sports increases to $107.10. Adult recreation ice time for Barrhead area groups runs $179.90 per hour, while summer ice for Barrhead area residents is pegged at $179.90.
Before the Barrhead Bombers' arrival, the municipality did not have a rate for non-primetime weekday ice. The category was added to the policy through negotiations with the team, as was the use of a designated dressing room, a coaches' office, along with a secured storage area, which the town provides at no cost.
Virani also suggested that the municipality allow the Bombers access to the Barrhead Regional Aquatics Centre at a reduced rate.
He also suggested that the Bombers could work with the town to add a weight training room at the Agrena.
"Essentially, what we are looking for is anything you guys are willing to do to help us to be successful so there will continue to be a Junior 'A' team in Barrhead," he said.
Mayor Dave McKenzie said later in the meeting that the municipality had to be careful about competing with private business, as they would be if they decided to install what is essentially a gym at the Agrena.
Coun. Dausen Kluin agreed, asking if the Bombers had approached the owner of the local gym.
"We have, and it's not that we don't want to use the gym, but from a hockey perspective, when kids get off the ice, they could go straight to the (walking track) to the weight room, all in the same area. From a logistics standpoint, long term, if we are looking at academy style program, it just makes a lot more sense to keep it one area."
Coun. Dave Sawatzky said he is a big supporter of the franchise but said it is unlikely that the municipality could grant all of the requests on the Bombers' wish list, asking him to narrow it down to one.
"It would be the ice rates," Virani replied. "The combination (of lower ice rates) and having more people in the stands will hopefully allow us to break even this year."
Coun. Don Smith also counted himself a Bomber supporter, noting he took in several games last season. However, he pointed out that in the end, it is a business.
"It is a business, and you need the buy-in from the community ... and in the last couple of years, I haven't seen that. It is up to you to find a way to get people in the seats," he said. "I know there have been challenges, but at some point, you have to say they are over and find ways to get people off the couch and into the arena. Because if they do, they will find out what good hockey it is."
Virani agreed, saying one of the biggest challenges the team is still struggling to overcome is the perception that they are in competition with minor hockey.
"We're not," he said. "I want to work with minor hockey and be there to support them. We want the (Bombers) to be something the young kids aspire to, so if we can help (minor hockey) out, with coaching or just getting on the ice with the players, we are all for it."
He added that he believes the franchise has turned a corner and they are on an upwards swing.
"When I took this thing over, I knew it would not quick fix and it would be a three to five-year project," he said.
