The Ice Wolves want a player's lounge in the Mel Helgand Uniplex. (Derek Cornet/larongeNOW Staff)

By Derek Cornet

town council

Special meeting scheduled in La Ronge to discuss possible Ice Wolves players lounge

Sep 14, 2023 | 5:31 PM

A special meeting of La Ronge council will be held on Sept. 19 in regards to a request from the La Ronge Ice Wolves to host a player’s lounge in the Mel Hegland Uniplex.

At a regular meeting on Tuesday, council discussed an amendment to the 2023-2026 La Ronge Ice Wolves Agreement that allows the team to use the arena storage area for a fee of $1,000 per year. The facility is leased to the Ice Wolves via an operating agreement, which outlines the relevant fees and conditions of facility use.

On June 25, a multi-year operating agreement between the municipality and the Ice Wolves was approved.

“On June 27, the Ice Wolves approached the town about the possibility of occupying a storage room underneath the arena bleachers for the purpose of creating a player’s lounge,” a report prepared by administration to council stated.

“The Ice Wolves proposed to renovate the space at their cost, but that the space be provided by the town for free. The storage room is approximately 516 square feet and stores rink boards, Lexan sheets, power box, lift, tables, hundreds of chairs, and other miscellaneous items that are important to the operation of the facility.”

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Administration has identified that the loss of this storage area would create operating issues and an inconvenience to the town. Issues identified included tables and chairs would need to be stored in various spaces throughout the building or offsite. Rink boards and glass would also need to remain onsite in case of damage and immediate replacement during a game, while the lift must remain onsite as well in case of a broken light during a game.

“That is one piece of equipment we are concerned about. If we just leave that by the end of the bleachers, which is the only place it can sit, [there’s] potential for kids to hang all over it and use it as a jungle gym or something,” La Ronge chief administrative officer Lyle Hannan said.

“It’s fine if the Ice Wolves are willing to secure it during a game because they have some staff or volunteers who are doing that, but it puts the burden on us the rest of the time to deal with that. That was really the only thing we found that was not ideal from this proposal.”

Hannan noted administration discussed with the Ice Wolves alternative areas for a lounge such as the Wolves Den. Improvements to the space would not only allow it to function as a player’s lounge, but also boost guest experience during games and events as well. The option was presented to the Ice Wolves, but they did not agree.

“My concern here is I’m not willing for us to accept the risk with open storage of the lift and other potential injuries to accommodate. Why are we putting ourselves at risk?” Coun. Viviana Ruiz Arcand said.

The special meeting next week is likely intended to brainstorm ideas to address the risk concerns associated with storing the lift in an open space, along with related storage concerns.

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derek.cornet@pattisonmedia.com