The Town of Smithers will be continuing with summer ice this year after increasing fees to 144 dollars per hour for the Northern Hockey School.
“I think that staff have come up with a good compromise that makes summer ice more affordable than it has been in the past,” says Bachrach.
Council was mulling a cut to the whole thing due to rising costs.
The move to increase the fees for the hockey school, as indicated by staff, is that they’re a for profit enterprise that have been getting a deal for years. Staff says there will be different rates for non profits – with commercial users charged the adult rate.
Town staff say they’re looking at a possible 5 thousand dollars in revenue with the increased fees. They also say with ice put on later in the summer they’ll be able to save around 35 hundred.
The celebrity Hockey Game will no longer be on this year, as staff say it’s too expensive to have summer ice in the old arena.