Princeton鈥檚 hopes of Kraft Hockeyville glory 鈥� along with its accompanying $250,000 鈥� were dashed Saturday, May 7 when Sydney, NS was announced as the winner during an NHL playoff game.
As one of four finalists in the annual contest Princeton will receive $25,000 for arena upgrades.
鈥淲e鈥檙e a little disappointed,鈥� admitted Mayor Spencer Coyne. 鈥淪till, I鈥檓 humbled and honored that Princeton was even in the top four.鈥�
The town had hoped to win and use the prize money to replace the arena roof, which is currently held together with tarps, weighted down by tires.
Sydney鈥檚 plan for the money is to reopen a shuttered rink that will give girls and women鈥檚 teams equal access to ice time.
鈥淚f we had to lose to anyone, I鈥檓 happy we lost to Sydney. It鈥檚 a good cause,鈥� said Coyne, who immediately sent a congratulatory video to the winning organization.
Excitement was high in Princeton Saturday, as people planned 鈥榳atch parties.鈥� Town council gathered in chambers, along with some staff and family members, to wait for the announcement.
They appeared on the broadcast, during the first period intermission in the Pittsburgh Penguin-New York Rangers game, via Zoom.
Sean McHaffie, who spearheaded the town鈥檚 Hockeyville application, held a party at his restaurant, Frannie鈥檚 Coffee.
Coyne said there were many positive outcomes from the Hockeyville experience
鈥淲e had the entire community, the region and all of B.C. right behind us鈥here was community pride and community spirit.鈥�
Through extensive print, radio and television exposure 鈥渆veryone knows about Princeton now, and for something positive.鈥�
The town will continue to make efforts to upgrade the Princeton and District Arena.
The 2022 budget allows for $1 million in arena improvements, however all the scheduled projects are dependent on grant funding that has yet to awarded.
鈥淲e鈥檝e got applications out,鈥� said Coyne. 鈥淲e have a lot of work to do still.鈥�
Priorities for the arena are the new roof, solar panels, and a new ice cleaning machine.
Do you have something to add to this story, or something else we should report on? Email:andrea.demeer@similkameenspotlight.com
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