Small price

Despite the hefty price tag of perhaps $100,000, the Fort Frances Lakers have agreed to host the Dudley Hewitt Cup next spring.
The benefits are obvious. First and foremost, the Lakers—as host team—get an automatic berth into the tournament, the winner of which advances to the national Junior ‘A’ championship (the RBC Cup).
Equally important, though, is the exposure Fort Frances would receive as the host community, not to mention the financial spin-offs for local businesses generated by the three other teams and their fans over the five-day event on everything from hotel accommodations to meals, gas, and shopping.
Clearly, staging the tournament is a major undertaking for a community-based team and certainly it will take community support and effort to pull it off. Obviously, sponsors are key—particularly from those businesses expected to reap the financial windfall from the visiting teams and fans.
No doubt Lakers’ supporters and local residents, too, will be asked to open their wallets, as they should.
But the organization also has requested the town help to offset expenses, with the most important being donation of the ice time, estimated to amount to about $4,500.
With Fort Frances still facing major economic struggles, even in light of today’s promising news of a prospective buyer for the kraft mill here, any hit to town coffers must be weighed carefully. In this case, however, the Lakers’ plea for taxpayer help is a reasonable one and a small price to pay given all the potential benefits the Dudley Hewitt Cup will bring.
It also should be noted having a Junior ‘A’ hockey team here is an asset to Fort Frances in the overall picture.
Hopefully, the new council to be sworn in Dec. 1 sees it the same way and agrees to the request.