By Mike Fegelman
A Centretown mother is disappointed her two sons won’t get to take part in this year’s National Street Hockey Tournament, after tournament organizers and the National Capital Commission failed to reach a deal to bring the event to Ottawa.
“The tournament sounds like a lot of fun, it would have taught kids good sportsmanship and it would have provided them with an opportunity to get involved in a recreational community event,” says Lauren Pecke, whose two boys — aged 14 and 16 — are avid hockey fans.
The deal proposed by the NCC would have cost organizers $7,000 for the use of the Queen Elizabeth Driveway. Scott Hill, a spokesman for the Calgary-based William Wilson Group, which organized the event, says cities such as Halifax and Winnipeg are only charging $500.
Hill says the initial cost was too expensive.
Another reason the group pulled out of the deal was that the NCC wanted it to become a member of the Friends of the Rideau Canal at an extra cost of $3,000.
Laurie Peters, spokeswoman for the NCC, insists that the option for the group to become a member of the Friends of the Rideau Canal was designed as a way to lower costs, not to increase them.
“There was a lot of misinterpreted information and we were doing everything in our power to help them out,” says Peters.
Peters explains that the charges estimated for the tournament were in keeping with their standard formula for a commercial event.
“It would have come to $2,200 a day plus charges for the use of the park, road closure fees and administration charges,” says Peters.
Ottawa West Ball Hockey League president Josh Korn says that because the organizers were too naïve and the NCC was too greedy, the city will suffer a political consequence.
“Who would want to do business in Ottawa,” says Korn. “This situation made us look bad, all at a cost to the kids.”
Korn says the city has lost out on tourism opportunities and small business ventures.
He also says it denied several charities the opportunity to receive proceeds that would have been given by the tournament organizers.
It is not only the city that has been adversely affected. Joshua Shwartz is 13 and plays division three ball hockey in the West-End Ball Hockey League. He is upset that he won’t be able to take part in the tournament.
“I love to play hockey, I’m Canadian, and I think me and my friends would have won,” says Shwartz.
The event, which is a successor to the NHL Breakout Tournament, would have seen in its first year of operation up to 5,000 players between the ages of seven and 17 taking part in Ottawa alone.
Hill says the event would have provided a great opportunity for youth to participate in a cultural event that would have brought great recreational fun.
“It’s very disappointing for the community and for the kids, it was designed for them and they’re really going to miss out,” says Hill.
Although organizers and the NCC could not come to an agreement for this coming summer, both hope the tournament can be brought to Ottawa the following year.
There is no indication, however, of when discussions may take place.