They need financial help or the 50 year run of the Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) could be in trouble.
The league will be seeking financial aid from both the provincial and federal government due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
“Our teams make a huge impact in their communities, both on and off the ice,” says commissioner Jeff Dubois.
“The reality we’re facing now is that without some financial assistance from the government, that may not be able to continue. When it comes to quantifying the negative financial impact on our league and teams, it’s clear we’re feeling the effects in a number of different areas.”
Thirteen of the 20-teams in the league are community owned, while the other seven – including the Kamloops Storm – are privately owned.
Speaking to NL Sports, Storm GM Matt Kolle says the impacts will be felt by teams for the next couple of years. He says teams rely on four streams of revenue to operate – player fees, sponsorships, ticket sales, and revenue from camps – all of which will be impacted in some way or the other.
“We all function through the same fashion,” he said. “To stay above water, we need those revenue streams. Just looking at from the outside, I think we can all see that we’ll need support from somewhere.”
Kolle says the Storm hasn’t estimated how much money will be needed to keep the team afloat just yet, but that work is being led by the league commissioner.
“We’re letting bigger social issues take precedence take precedence at this time. As we come out this pandemic, we got to figure out how we’re going to start the economy everywhere,” he added.
“At the end of the day, we are a business, and coming out of COVID-19 we have to find a way as a business to survive, and if our hands our tied, the way that the look to be tied right now, we need support like every other business in B.C. and in Canada.”
In a statement, the league says there have been heavy financial losses, with those challenges expected to continue when play resumes, a point which Kolle also echoes.
“We’re working with BC Hockey and Hockey Canada to get back on this ice. We’re all in this hockey world because we enjoy the game, and we’re all looking at how this might look.”
“We as the Kamloops Storm, we want to get on the ice tomorrow if they’ll let us. Hopefully these restrictions will allow us to play our game that we love.”
