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CALGARY — Alberta's $69-million pledge for an Olympic-calibre ice complex was met with much fanfare yesterday, but now Hockey Canada is left begging Ottawa and businesses to kick in $207-million more to get its new home and training centre in Calgary in the ground.
Officials are hoping to open the country's first national sports institute in September of 2009 at Canada Olympic Park so both the women's and men's hockey teams can train there before the Vancouver Winter Games in 2010. But they are relying on Canadian pride to make it happen.
"This will be first-class," Hockey Canada president Bob Nicholson said of the complex. "When you start to look at what the U.S. is doing, what Finland is doing, what Sweden is doing, we're a long ways behind right now and our athletes, and in this case our hockey players, deserve a lot better when they put on the Canadian jersey."
Nicholson wants the federal government to match the provincial commitment, which was previously promised, but only yesterday finally confirmed, and wants to offer naming rights and sponsorships to entice corporate Canada to step in with the rest of the money needed to build the $276-million complex.
"Hopefully, they see the benefits for Hockey Canada and our teams, but all of the Canadian Olympic athletes," he said, "There should be such pride in all that."
The project, designed by the Calgary Olympic Development Association, also has to clear city council, which will debate the issue next month.
Former women's team captain Cassie Campbell said a key factor in the double gold medal win in hockey for Canada in 2002 was that the teams trained together at the Father David Bauer Arena in Calgary before the Salt Lake Games. But the arena is aging and athletes need state-of-the-art rinks such as the one proposed by the Calgary Olympic Development Association, she said.
"This is so huge for Olympic sport," Campbell said. "A facility like this is about 2010 and beyond."
