Central Okanagan mayors support Kraft Hockeyville bid

Mayors Walter Gray (Kelowna), Keith Fielding (Peachland) and James Baker (Lake Country) pose with West Kelowna Mayor, Doug Findlater, throwing their support behind West Kelowna’s bid for Kraft Hockeyville 2012. (Photo contributed)

Contributed

With just days before CBC announces the top 15 communities advancing to the next stage of this year’s Kraft Hockeyville competition, Central Okanagan Mayors Walter Gray (Kelowna), James Baker (Lake Country) and Keith Fielding (Peachland) are throwing their support behind West Kelowna’s bid.

West Kelowna’s Hockeyville Co-Chair, Adam Less is thrilled and hopes this will motivate people from neighbouring communities to vote starting Saturday.

“We can only win this if we muster support from our neighbours in Kelowna, Peachland, Lake Country and beyond. “ said Less.

“If we advance to the top 15, then it becomes a numbers game. We’ll need the support from all surrounding communities to secure a spot in the final five.”

The final five communities will each be awarded $25,000 for their arena and will host CBC live from their rinks on March 31, when the winner of Kraft Hockeyville is announced. The winning community will receive an additional $100,000 and the opportunity to host an NHL game at their arena later this year.

“There’s a lot at stake here and we hope folks from surrounding communities see the value this can bring to our whole region. The exposure the Okanagan will receive nationwide is huge. And the benefits of hosting an NHL game right here in the Okanagan will be tremendous for all of us.”

Should West Kelowna be among the top 15, organizers will have a public voting centre ready to go around the clock at the Best Western Hotel, immediately following Saturday’s announcement.

“Anyone from anywhere can vote as often as they like. The public is welcome to join us at the voting centre. But people don’t have to vote from the voting centre. They can vote from anywhere,” said Less.

CBC and Kraft will release voting details later this week and the Hockeyville team will be distributing that information throughout the media as soon as its available.