Douro Community Centre In The Running For Kraft Hockeyville Arena Renovation

The Douro Community Centre has thrown it’s hat in the ring for the Kraft Hockeyville competition in hopes to win a $250,000 arena upgrade and an NHL game hosted in the community.

Three Douro teams won the OMHA Finals in 2016. Photo courtesy of Kerri Riel.

“Knowing the limited resources that we may have because of COVID, we’re hoping to add to our operational budget and we’ll be able to see some renos,” said Kerri Riel, Douro Minor Hockey Association (DMHA) Secretary.

The cooling plant at the community centre located in Warsaw failed, which means the entire Douro Dukes Hockey Association, 19 teams, is operating out of one arena and four dressing rooms.

She notes that the alternative dressing rooms that are often used for girls playing on mostly boys teams, are in closets.

“It’s not adequate. Right now we’re just not able to provide equitable and inclusive spaces for everyone, and we need to for all Douro Dukes.”

“We have very competitive teams,” she said. “For the last five years we have sent teams to the All Ontario Finals. You look back to 2016 - three of our teams won the OMHA Finals. That was a big deal, almost unprecedented in Ontario.”

Riel says the DMHA hopes that players will want to play in Douro, rather than go play in communities that have more modern arenas.

“We’re the Dukes and we’re proud to be. It was a big deal to be a Duke. Everybody around us has had these updates to their arenas and we just haven’t been able to manage that yet.”

The Kraft Hockeyville competition begins with the ‘Nominate and Rally’ phase, where community members take actions like sharing on social media and submitting photos’ on the Hockeyville site to earn points.

The winning community centre will receive $250,000 in renovations and the opportunity to host a pre-season NHL game in their community.

“We have a long, deep history and a love for hockey,” said Riel. “The opportunity to offer to the whole community a Pre-Season NHL game? That would be the icing on the cake. We could offer thanks for the dedication and support from our volunteers and community.”

The Nominate and Rally phase will end on April 3, after which arena’s will be judged by a panel. The top four will be announced on April 23 and voting will open. One winner will be announced on May 7.

Riel invites anyone with a memory from The Douro Community Centre to add a story, photo or video to the Hockeyville nomination page. Likes and shares on social media will also help the community centre to proceed to the next round.

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