Kootenay Ice to run a significant six-figure deficit this season

General Manager of the Kootenay Ice, Jeff Chynoweth.

It is not too often that the Cranbrook-based Kootenay Ice make the front page of the sports section of Canada’s national newspaper but that was the case in an article entitled, “Major junior about more than just a paycheque – amidst a growing income disparity between large and small-market teams, the CHL tries to justify how it compensates its players”

Here are some excerpts from the article penned by Globe and Mail writer Eric Duhatschek…..

The town of Cranbrook is nestled in a scenic corner of southeast British Columbia between the Purcell and Rocky Mountains, a railway town of about 20,000 – home to College of the Rockies, home to the Canadian Museum of Rail Travel and since, 1998, also the home to the Kootenay Ice.

Kootenay is the junior hockey equivalent of the NHL’s Nashville Predators, a small-market team that annually bucks the odds to ice a competitive, exciting team, despite its relative size. (a Memorial Cup and three WHL championships and the playoffs for 16 consecutive years – a league record)

Junior hockey is supposed to be cyclical; the Ice, under long time general manager Jeff Chynoweth, has managed to stay competitive year after year – in the standings, if not necessarily at the box office.

Kootenay operates at the other end of the spectrum (compared to large market, profitable teams like Calgary, Kelowna and Portland). Its arena, opened in 2000 and seats 4,264 for junior hockey.

Making the case for the junior operators: Ron Robison, the commissioner of the WHL says, “For every franchise we have at the top end – we have the Lethbridges and Kootenays and the small-market teams in all our leagues that are struggling now….In our case (WHL) now, there are more on the wrong side of equation than on the right side of it.”

Out west, overall WHL attendance has been largely flat. Much like other teams across the league, we’re missing the 20-45 age group. You look at the options nowadays. There’s high-definition TV, with hockey on every night…There’s Netflix for $7.99 a month. You’re competing for that entertainment dollar, Chynoweth told the newspaper.

When the team first came to Cranbrook average attendance was 3,600 per game. “Our attendance right now, through 15 games, is 2.176, so we’re down 22.4 per cent in three years. I ask myself, ‘What more am I supposed to do?’….We’ve won and we’ve put an entertaining product on the ice and attendance continues to go down,” Chynoweth added.

“We’re looking at a six-figure deficit this year, a significant six-figure deficit…when your expenses continue to rise and your revenue is flat, that is not a good mix,” he stated.

The article also pointed out that attempts to get the higher revenue teams to share box office revenues with the small-fry teams have been largely unsuccessful. With the team in a "significant deficit" position and attendance down 22.4 per cent, some are wondering if the team's future in Cranbrook is at stake?

Source: Globe and Mail Saturday December 27, 2014