Arviat shoots, it scores: Community wins arena upgrades

Arviat’s King Arena has scored big, winning a $50,000 upgrade in the first of two prize rounds in the 20th annual Kraft Hockeyville national contest.

“We’re thrilled,” said Jolene Curley, Arviat’s director of community development. “We just heard about it.”

In the first round of prizes, announced Saturday, one community from each province and territory was awarded $50,000 for upgrades.

Next, from those 13 entries judges will select two finalists whose names will be announced Sunday. The judges are from Kraft, the National Hockey League and the National Hockey League Players Association.

After that, an online vote across Canada will decide which community will win the first-place prize of $250,000 and the opportunity to host an NHL preseason game.

The runner-up gets $100,000 for arena upgrades.

“We’re so stoked,” Curley said. “We’re going to try our best as a community to get the number one spot.”

In the legislative assembly Monday, Arviat MLA Jamie Kablutsiak called on Nunavummiut to support the hamlet by voting for it, if it is named one of the top two contenders.

He announced the contest website — KraftHockeyville.ca — and invited everyone to follow Arviat’s progress.

“Hopefully I didn’t go offside by providing details,” he said.

Arviat’s contest entry described how an upgrade will help the community to heat its 36-year-old arena, which Curley said has been known for its cold temperatures for more than a decade.

“The number one issue is the heating issue,” she said. “We wouldn’t mind getting a brand new furnace installed with ventilation.”

The Hockeyville win is the second piece of good news for Arviat already this year. In February, it was selected to host the main campus of Inuit Nunangat University, expected to open in 2030.

With files from Jeff Pelletier