The Rich Valley Arena south of Barrhead is among the four finalists in the running to be named Kraft Hockeyville 2019, which comes with a grand prize of $250,000 to upgrade the arena and the opportunity to host an NHL pre-season game.
Whether or not they are chosen, however, depends entirely on online votes cast between 10 a.m. on Friday, March 29 and 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, March 30 at www.krafthockeyville.ca.
In order to be in the running, the community of Rich Valley had to submit an essay detailing their story, which would be reviewed by judges.
Local community members also had to rack up “rally points” by sharing tweets about the competition, publishing photos online and reacting via social media to photographs or videos about the rink, as well as the “story” published on the Kraft Hockeyville website.
Gina Hove, who wrote the story of the Rich Valley Arena and submitted it to the Kraft Hockeyville judges, said there was a little bit of shock when they were told that they were among the four finalists, followed by excitement and a general sense of being overwhelmed.
“When the reveal came, we were overjoyed. It was amazing,” she said.
Hove’s essay detailed the predicament that is facing the Rich Valley Arena. Just prior to the 2018-2019 hockey season, their ice plant malfunctioned and left them unable to make ice.
“We were two days away from opening and our chiller went in on our ice plant,” said Hove.
As they had “zero funds” to effect repairs, Hove said they were left with the devastating choice to go without ice this year.
Since then, the community has been doing some fundraising in order to get a replacement.
“We’re inching our way there, but we’re so, so far away,” said Hove. “The ice plant we’re looking at is approximately $140,000 for us to get it into our arena.”
They were then alerted to the Kraft Hockeyville contest. Although everyone agreed it was a long shot, it was basically decided that they had nothing to lose by entering.
“If anything, it will get our story out there,” Hove said. “Fast forward to today, and here we are in the final four.”
The other three finalists are the Wilkie SaskCan Community Centre in Wilkie, Sask.; the Tom Donovan Arena in Renous, N.B.; and the Centre Sportif Soulanges in Saint-Polycarpe, Que.
Like the Rich Valley arena, they are all struggling with their own issues, so it will require a massive outpouring of support for Rich Valley to win.
Fortunately, there seems to be no shortage of Albertans willing to help out. Hove joked that her phone has been ringing off the hook since the announcement was made.
“The outpouring of support was overwhelming. It was amazing,” she said. “It’s been crazy, but a good crazy. We love it.”
Hove said the community is also reaching out to other Alberta hockey teams that have played in their rink, noting they serve as an overflow arena for communities as far away as St. Albert, Spruce Grove, Stony Plain and, of course, Barrhead.
She noted they are the only Alberta rink in the running, so they are also appealing to people on that basis.
There might be a selfish reason for communities close to Rich Valley to help the community win the contest as well. If the NHL deems the arena unable to host the NHL pre-season game, Hove said they might need to look at nearby communities with sizeable arenas, such as Barrhead.
Hove noted they are planning to host an “announcement party” on Saturday, March 30. Sportsnet will be on site and will broadcast the arena if Rich Valley is named as the winner, and Hove indicated they will be hosting some small events to get people out to vote.
“We really need to get that ice back in that arena, because without it, we won’t have our facility and the kids will be devastated,” she said.
For further details on the contest or to watch a video about the Rich Valley arena, go to krafthockeyville.ca.
