St. Albertans will soon have another option to watch the Edmonton Oilers in the playoffs, as council voted unanimously Monday (May 26) for the city to host outdoor watch parties, should the team advance to the Stanley Cup Final.
The watch parties that would be held outdoors at Servus Place will give St. Albertans another option to watch the team amid various other events at restaurants and bars around the city. Up to $70,000 would be made available from the stabilization reserve to fund the event, with the cost estimated to be approximately $10,000 per game of a seven game series.
"I've thought about this for years and people have asked for it for years, and my response was always that we don't want to take away from the private businesses," St. Albert Mayor Cathy Heron said. But she said that she's noticed that there can be difficulty getting into some of the private businesses without a reservation, and you can't go with children under 18 in many cases. She hopes that this will be a fun alternative and for families.
"I'm excited to be able to give back to our community. That's what we do as a council is create opportunities for community to get together, and I think there's so much excitement in the city and in the region right now that this would be super fun," she said.
The event will be family friendly, with food trucks and portable washrooms expected. No alcohol consumption or sales will be permitted on site. City administration said they've included security costs in the budget to ensure enforcement is possible during the event.
They added that the event would be similar to their Canada Day movie event, with free drop-in admission. They anticipate that the limited parking on site would prevent the event from becoming overcrowded. The screen size was not mentioned, but administration said it was likely that 2500 people could comfortably view it.
Coun. Sheena Hughes said that administration should be prepared to get this together soon, with the Oilers' current Western Conference Final series against the Dallas Stars looking like it's going to be over sooner rather that later.
"They're going to win in six games, so staff should be prepared for the reality that this is going to be an event happening in the next couple weeks," Hughes said.
