Avalon Minor Hockey Association (AMHA) is  very pleased to announce that the purchase of Feildian Gardens has been completed.

Following our recent communication of May 11, our Board completed a number of additional tasks towards the successful closing of the transaction. AMHA acknowledges the City of St. John’s as a key partner supporting our vision for the project. We thank Mayor Danny Breen, City Councillors, and Deputy City Manager, Derek Coffey, for their efforts in bringing this to reality.

To facilitate the purchase and rink ownership, Celtics Centre Hockey Corporation (CCHC) was created. As owner of Feildian Gardens, CCHC is an incorporated, ‘Not-For-Profit’ entity that will focus on rink operations. CCHC is structured with AMHA as its single member so that AMHA will direct CCHC by way of appointing concurrent Directors.

That’s the corporate stuff out of the way… now let’s talk hockey!  Your Board and staff will be quite active over the coming weeks planning a return to play. HNL has formed a Return To Play (RTP) Committee and AMHA is represented on the committee. In the near future we expect HNL to share more details about organized hockey resuming in the fall.

While we are confident hockey will resume this fall, modifications to programs and operating procedures are expected. We are all in this together and with creativity and open minds, our children can get back on the ice and back to having fun and developing through the great team sport of hockey!

Over the summer period, CCHC and AMHA will be preparing the rink to host our members this fall. CCHC has retained the services of Mr. Chris Rooney who will continue in his role as Rink Manager. Steve Power, Technical Director, will continue developing and managing the hockey programs under AMHA. We are developing a Partner presentation and look forward to presenting unique opportunities for corporate partners in the near future.

As previously communicated, we assumed bank debt to fund the purchase. Our long term vision is to own the rink debt free as soon as possible and reduce operating costs. In support of this vision, we will also be launching a legacy / capital campaign in the near future with a goal of adding contributions from corporate and individual donors.

AMHA is planning to hold our AGM and Election of Officers within the next 4-5 weeks with a virtual and / or in-person format to be determined. We will post details of AGM in a separate News item in the coming days.

Thank you for your continued support of our hockey association as we mark a major milestone event. AMHA’s story is filled with many traditions, legends, myths, and lore carried forward by members like you for the past several decades. We look forward to opening the doors of our new home soon and begin writing the next chapters!

AMHA Executive

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