Admission will be free for anyone wishing to attend Friday’s Flin Flon Bomber game, thanks to a sponsorship arrangement between the club and Hudbay.
Dubbed “Hockey Night in Flin Flon,” the idea came about after news broke that the Weyburn Red Wings are struggling to pay their bills due to low attendance.
With attendence down at rinks across the country, the writing is on the wall for a lot of junior hockey franchises: either find a way to get people in the rink or face the reality that your team may fold.
“We need to get fans coming back to the games if we want to see this organization last in Flin Flon,” said head coach and GM Mike Reagan. “We want people to come and see how good the hockey is and hopefully come back and enjoy the games. The SJHL is a great product. We know we have Bomber fans, but we need them supporting the team by coming to the games. We pitched the idea to Hudbay as our largest corporate sponsor and they were all on board.”
Paying admission
Hudbay will be paying the gate admission for anyone attending the game on Friday and hope that people take advantage of the opportunity to come and support their local team.
“Hudbay is very proud to support the communities in which we operate and have been for our entire existence in northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan,” said Rob Winton, vice-president, Manitoba Business Unit for Hudbay. “The Flin Flon Bombers have been an integral part of our community for decades. They have generated numerous wonderful memories and have been a constant through tough and good times.”
The original idea was to have Hudbay pay the admission for all employees in attendance, but that grew to include the entire community – or at least as many fans as can fit into the rink.
“As a proud corporate sponsor of the Bombers we were very willing to assist Mike in his attempt to generate some excitement in the community for a team that is playing an exciting and successful brand of hockey,” said Winton. “When Mike first approached us with an idea to hold a Hudbay night for employees, we thought it needed to include everyone in the community.
“With admission taken care of, our hope is that the Whitney Forum is full and loudly cheering for the Bombers as they make their playoff push. The night is to celebrate the Bombers’ place in our community and for them to feel our appreciation. Hudbay is very happy to assist and I look forward to a very good hockey game on Friday.”
