Canada’s national past time took another blow on Sunday. The collective bargaining agreement that had been in effect since 2005 expired and the National Hockey League locked out its players.
     The main disagreement between the league and the players is money and how revenue is divided between the players and owners.
    “I haven’t paid much attention to it, but I think it’s a very unfortunate thing when it comes down to the number one thing; money,” said Drumheller Dragons head coach and general manager Brian Curran, who played in 12 seasons of the NHL.
    “If you’re making $1.2 million or even $800,000, yeah that’s a lot of money, but relative to other sports it’s not. I’d say football and baseball are probably the biggest sports. In baseball, you’re talking salaries that are outrageous, but they have the numbers and the television rights. The NHL, although it’s considered one of the big four leagues, doesn’t carry as much of a television following.”
    However, the lockout goes beyond how it affects the players and the team owners. Businesses rely on a steady stream of NHL action. In rural Alberta, none may feel it more than the bars and restaurants who regularly show hockey games to their patrons. Without hockey, bars will be moving on and showcasing other sports.
    “We’re doing a big focus on football, NFL and CFL. We’re playing all the games in the bar and trying to stay positive. We’re incredibly disappointed to not have hockey, because it’s a huge draw for crowds and we’re all fans here too,” said Stacey Stewart, general manager of Drumheller Boston Pizza, who shows NHL hockey nearly every night. “I think bars across Alberta will feel a hit without hockey. With things like Hockey Day in Canada, every person in the bar is wearing a jersey.”
    Mike Yavis, owner of Yavis Family Restaurant and Lounge estimates it will not have a  severe impact.
    “It probability is not going to majorly hurt our business, but it’s something we always have on. Now, we’ll have reruns of tennis or whatever on these sports stations. Baseball will fill in for awhile,” said Yavis. “In bars in Calgary I can see it hurting, it’s a social event and after the games the bars fill up.”
    In the end, it may be the fans who suffer the most.
    “The players are going to hurt, the fans are definitely going to hurt. Unfortunately it always comes down to the dollars,” said Curran.
    “It seems like that’s the big topic in the lounge when I talk to guests. They’re complaining about the lockout and they don’t understand why Bettman isn’t fired. It’s the biggest conversation piece, that’s for sure,” said Stewart. “It might be a boring winter for Canada.”
    “People are just mad with the NHL and the players. They need to get back to reality and what real people make for a living,” said Yavis.
    In the meantime, there are still outlets in the area where hockey fans can get their fix.
    “There’s a lot of hockey around,” said Rod Knelsen, Dragons co-owner and president. “There’s minor hockey, Junior B in Three Hills, Western Hockey not far away, and of course the Dragons.”

    Questions are being raised by members of the Drumheller Town Council about the effectiveness of the fundraising strategy for the Badlands Community Facility.
    At the September 17 meeting of the Committee of the Whole, some felt it was time to reevaluate the success of the fundraising campaign.
    “Time continues to pass without significant additional results. The campaign cabinet had a herculean task, in difficult economic times, but they also had professional consultation and a plan we all endorsed,” said Councillor Jay Garbutt.
    “The results, thus far, have fallen short of the goals. To me that would indicate the necessity of a joint meeting between our council and the cabinet. In my mind we missed out on the greatest swing in public opinion on the facility in its first few months of opening. We missed out on the chance to do whole fundraising events in those crucial first few months.”
    The Director of Community Services, Paul Salvatore, reported there were several events ongoing or in the works, such as the brick campaign, where donors who donate more than $250 can have their names and a message inscribed on a brick in the upcoming Legacy Donor Patio.
    Other ideas raised by the cabinet, according to Salvatore, include an elegant dinner, another alumni hockey game, and a festival of trees where Christmas trees would be auctioned off.
    Fundraising efforts for the facility began in November 2009 with a Calgary Flames alumni charity game. By March 2010, The Mail reported $1.7 million had been committed to the construction of the facility.
    To help with the whole process of fundraising, the Town contracted Nine Lions Development Consulting in November 2010 for $233,000.
    In the two years since then, efforts have managed to collect over half of the fundraising goal. Salvatore, estimated at least $3.3 million had been donated so far.
    The fundraising goal was set at $6 million for the first phase of the facility, which opened in March of this year.
    “We are charged as community leaders with having open, frank conversations about many difficult topics that inherently have the capacity to offend. This one is no different…we’re talking about evaluating the results of volunteers who have given so much of themselves to the project,” said Garbutt. “However, the necessity of success cannot be understated, we simply have to succeed.”
    “I’m not talking about evaluating the efforts of volunteers…but, I strongly believe we owe it to them and the rest of the community to have a conversation about the results of the campaign thus far.”
    As a result of the discussion, Town Council is arranging a meeting with the campaign cabinet and consultants in early October.
    “I want to hear directly from the cabinet that they either do or do not continue to have the resources they need, they do or do not have the manpower they need,” said Garbutt. "...and, most importantly, do they or do they not have the passion and energy the position demands.”