Northern Alberta junior hockey team on thin ice due to pandemic debt

Grande Prairie city council is considering contributing more than $200,000 in financial relief to keep the local Alberta Junior Hockey League team on the ice. 

The Grande Prairie Storm presented to city council's Invest GP committee on Tuesday to request fiscal aid. 

Jordan Johnson, the team's treasurer, said the Storm is asking for $223,794.

He said that would help with usage fees at the Bonnett's Energy Centre and pay for a loan the team took during the pandemic. 

"The reality is we won't make it through another year without help," Johnson told the committee. 

The Storm racked up $310,000 in debt over the pandemic, Johnson said. And despite about $1.3 million in revenue last season, the team was still operating in the red. 

In a statement to CBC News, Storm executive director Nicole Menzies said the team's challenges are similar to what other community-owned teams across the country are facing following the pandemic.

Grande Prairie city council will consider the Storm's financial request on Monday. 

Mayor Jackie Clayton said said the community-owned team is the only sport organization regularly bringing 1,000 to 3,000 fans into downtown Grande Prairie 

"Other than the coaching staff. They have one employee and I mean, they work hard to produce an excellent form of entertainment week after week through volunteerism," Clayton said in an interview with CBC News. 

"It would be sad to see the storm not exist in our community. However, we need to be diligent and look at all the opportunities when it comes to funding requests." 

AJHL teams, including the Storm, temporarily implemented player fees to cover the costs when there was an absence of revenue from ticket sales during the pandemic.

Clayton said partial fees could be