The Alberta Junior Hockey League will decide at the end of the month if the St. Albert Steel will relocate to Whitecourt next season.
The board of governors will vote on the Steel's request to leave St. Albert after five seasons. The Steel's lease with the Servus Credit Union Place expires Aug. 31.
"If the Steel were to move, they would need time to get things in order for themselves for our scheduling meeting in the middle of May," said AJHL president Craig Cripps. "If the relocation doesn't occur then the city, along with the Steel, would have to work together to make sure there is a commitment from the facility to allow us to go ahead when we do our scheduling."
Friday in Edmonton the AJHL's management committee met separately with Mayor Nolan Crouse and Steel representatives Greg Parks and Kelly Smith to discuss the future of the money losing franchise.
The committee consisted of five AJHL governors, including Darren Myshak of the Spruce Grove Saints and Kyle Chase of the Sherwood Park Crusaders.
"We'll be going over some of the facts and the data that were presented to us. A lot of it was financial information. Our chairman of the board, Greg Wood, will be looking that over just to make sure we're comfortable with everything that was presented to us," Cripps said.
Smith, the Steel's governor, was satisfied with the process.
"I don't know what was said in Mr. Crouse's meeting because we weren't part of that, but Greg and I talked about what we wanted to talk about and we answered questions. The committee members had lots of good questions and sometimes they were pointed with their questions, which is good. They want to get to the bottom line because they have to report back to the board of governors," Smith said.
If the Steel's relocation bid is turned down, Smith said the club would have no choice but to try and hammer out a new agreement with the city.
"I don't see any other option. We would have to do our best to get a workable deal done and move on and persevere," he said.
Too close to call
Crouse left the meeting unsure whether the Steel would stay or go.
"My gut feeling was honestly 50/50," Crouse said.
During his 45-minute session Crouse presented details of the old contract and the new offer, the amount of money the Steel owes the city, attendance figures, financial statements and correspondence.
"It was a very understanding meeting. It was a sympathetic group. They were not in any way critical of the city and they love the arena," Crouse said. "They were really trying to understand my opinion with what hasn't gone right here. One of the key questions was what the reason was for the declining fan base in St. Albert. Another question was what role did Parks have in the lack of attendance and lack of financial revenue in St Albert."
Parks, the head coach, general manager and part-owner of the Steel, has not returned phone calls to the Gazette since the AJHL announced March 30 the Steel had filed for relocation under the same ownership.
The speculation is Parks will at some point in the future sell the team to a Whitecourt businessman if the AJHL approves the relocation. The city has first rights to purchase or find local buyers to match any offer for the Steel while the team is in St. Albert.
Parks was also the assistant coach, general manager and part-owner of the Fort Saskatchewan Traders, when they relocated to St. Albert after losing the 2007 AJHL final. The Traders replaced the St. Albert Saints, who moved to Spruce Grove in April of 2004 after 27 years in St. Albert.
Crouse questions how Whitecourt can support an AJHL team after the Steel's plight in St. Albert.
"Will the revenue stream be better in Whitecourt than it has been in St. Albert? Will they get more ticket sales in Whitecourt than they have in St. Albert?" Crouse asked. "If it costs $500,000 to run a team in St. Albert, it's going to cost $500,000 to run a team in Whitecourt. The costs didn't go down to operate a hockey club if you move it to a different community.
"The challenge is the costs are too high for the revenues coming in. If this is the situation in St. Albert, it mirrors what the challenges are in the other communities throughout the league. The cost structure in the league fits very few communities."
Tough times
The Steel has struggled on and off the ice since moving to St. Albert in 2007. Season tickets dropped from 454 in their first season to about 75 in 2011-12. They averaged 247 fans at home this past season and missed the playoffs for the first time in team history with a 9-48-3 record.
Smith was reluctant to get into specifics why the Steel failed to put fans in the stands.
"There is probably a number of reasons why, including location. When you look at the metro teams, both Calgary and Edmonton in the AJHL, you would probably get similar answers," Smith said.
The Whitecourt-based Steel would play their home games in the newly renovated 1,500-seat Scott Safety Centre. Cripps plans to check out the facility soon. He visited the arena before the renovations and once last year when they were being completed.
"On my second visit I did make a list of things that I thought needed to be improved if we were to move into that facility. They were just small things but at the same time we have to make sure that we have a proper environment should we go there," said Cripps.
He described Friday's fact-finding meeting as a learning experience.
"We need to be, I guess, more active in knowing the financial situations of all of our teams," said Cripps. "Obviously running a junior A hockey team is not an easy task when it comes to revenues and where they are derived from. It certainly opened our eyes to how we're going to interact with our teams in the future. We've got to be more open with each other and the league so if there is a problem we can address it.
"It's also critical for an AJHL team to have a real solid relationship with the civic government that is in power at that time. If you don't have that connection then things can certainly not be that advantageous as it could be when it comes to negotiating leases or things like ice rates, as well as having the city understand your overall operation and the economic impact the team has on its community."
