A major announcement made waves in Lethbridge on Wednesday, as people learned the 2019 Men’s World Curling Championships are coming to the city. But the event could force the Lethbridge Hurricanes to lose several playoff games.
When the event was announced, a Lethbridge city councillor said he was told the ‘Canes supported the move.
“In fact, that was a question that I asked right off the bat,” Mark Campbell said at the World Curling press conference on Wednesday. “‘Are the Hurricanes on board with this?’ And Kim Gallucci said, ‘Yes, they want to help.’”
Gallucci is the general manager of the Enmax Centre.
But the Hurricanes’ board president, Doug Paisley, said to his knowledge, the team was never asked if they were willing to vacate the Enmax Centre during playoff time.
“The bottom line is, we’re not thrilled with it,” he told Global News on Thursday. “It is a detriment to the Lethbridge Hurricanes.
“I think we probably could have been involved in the process sooner. Probably, if you asked those guys (Hurricanes staff) if they were willing or wanting to give up the building, I’m sure the answer would have been not a positive one.”
Paisley said he knows the Men’s World Curling Championship is a big event for the city and understands the Enmax Centre is used for other things than just hockey.
He said the problem is the ‘Canes could lose two to four home games in the 2019 playoffs, which he estimates would cost the organization at least $60,000 per game.
“Obviously – financially — for us in the past, that’s where you make your revenue over your expenses,” Paisley said. “That’s the break-even point if things have gone right in the regular season.
“To lose your building is impactful financially and it’s impactful on your team. We want to find a way to accommodate all our season ticket holders.”
Gallucci spoke with Global News on Thursday and said he could have handled the situation better.
“There should have been some additional communication pieces, and in that role, I have to take responsibility for that. I did not fulfill certain things that I needed to do, which were intended to be planned and it just didn’t happen.”
Gallucci said Enmax Centre officials plan to meet with the Hurricanes next week to start the process of looking at a potential interim 2019 playoff venue.
Gallucci said the Enmax Centre has final say when it comes to the booking of the facility.
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