Northern Alberta junior hockey team loan deferred by city council

Grande Prairie city council is giving the local Alberta Junior Hockey League team a break on loan repayments. 

Last month, the Grande Prairie Storm asked the Invest GP committee to consider fiscal aid. The Storm racked up $310,000 in debt over the pandemic, according to the team's June 20 presentation. 

On June 26, the city waived about $65,000 in ice fees for the hockey development program and 2023/24 Storm games at the Bonnetts Energy Centre. Council also asked staff to bring back additional information about forgiving or amending the loan, which has $158,000 left owing to the city. 

On Monday, city council approved a three-year interest-free payment deferral on the outstanding loan. 

Grande Prairie Mayor Jackie Clayton said council was happy to provide the reprieve. 

"It'll give them a break from the stress of making those payments. However, recognizing that the loan is still there, the expectation is that the loan will be paid off," Clayton said. 

Repayments will resume in July 2026.

Nicole Menzies, the Storm executive director, said the pandemic led to losses in ticket sales and corporate advertising revenue for the community-owned team. 

"This puts us in a great position to really focus on nurturing those community relationships. Nurturing those relationships with our sponsors and corporate advertisers, and really helps us kind of get focused moving forward," Menzies said. 

Despite about $1.3 million in revenue last season, the team was still operating in the red. 

Menzies said the team will look at every option over the next three years. However, she said reintroducing player fees could add an additional challenge to recruitment. AJHL teams, including the Storm, temporarily implemented player fees to cover the