Joey Payeur
It’s all over but the breath holding.
Fort Frances will find out during Saturday’s broadcast of CBC’s “Hockey Night in Canada” whether it has advanced to the top 16 communities for the 2014 Kraft “Hockeyville” contest.
If that happens, it will mean an automatic $25,000 in arena upgrades for the Memorial Sports Centre.
More importantly, Fort Frances then will move on for a shot at the grand prize of $100,000 in arena upgrades, the right to host an NHL pre-season game, and the chance to have a CBC-TV crew visit to record the event.
The organizing committee for the Fort Frances bid had its final meeting Monday to solidify plans to launch a massive online voting strategy the minute the polls open on Saturday at 9 p.m. (local time).
The voting then will run for the next 48 hours at krafthockeyville.ca
The top two teams in the West bracket (which includes Fort Frances) and the East bracket will advance to the top four, which then will be voted on March 15-17.
The Memorial Sports Centre will be open for the entire voting period, with 14 laptops on hand for people to use.
People also can bring their own laptops, iPhones, and other devices to vote with if they so choose.
As well, nine voting sub-stations located at area businesses will be open during regular business hours, where people can vote during the 48-hour period.
Those businesses include Boston Pizza, From The Grind Up, NCDS, McDonald’s, Tim Hortons, Super 8, A&W, the Fort Frances Library Technology Centre, and La Place Rendez-Vous.
On Saturday evening, an announcement party will be held at Boston Pizza, with the word expected sometime during the broadcast of the Philadelphia Flyers-Toronto Maple Leafs game, which begins at 6 p.m.
“We have changed our outlook on this contest,” said local bid organizer Jonathan Glueheisen.
“We are no longer after the money for the arena,” he noted. “The money is nice but we would like to see the NHL [pre-season] game played in Fort Frances.
“It’s something people will remember their whole lives. So our focus has shifted.
“Just remember that people don’t have to leave the comforts of their house, either,” added Glueheisen.
“We would like them to,” he said. “But they can vote at the above website sitting right in their own home.”
