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Cold Lake to be home of the Voyageurs after all

The City of Cold Lake's dream of having college level hockey in the Energy Centre will come true. Portage College has made the decision to stand behind their initial agreement with the City of Cold Lake.
The Portage College Voyageurs will be moving to Cold Lake for the next hockey season.
The Portage College Voyageurs will be moving to Cold Lake for the next hockey season.

The City of Cold Lake's dream of having college level hockey in the Energy Centre will come true.

Portage College has made the decision to stand behind their initial agreement with the City of Cold Lake. This comes after Lac La Biche County council requested a review of the agreement to move the Voyageurs hockey team to the city.

In early May, the City of Cold Lake agreed to a proposal made by the college. Shortly after, Omer Moghrabi, mayor of Lac La Biche, approached the college's board of governors about the agreement, requesting a review of the decision.

As the current home of the Voyageurs, Lac La Biche had been approached about keeping the team, but rejected Portage's offer. The college then approached the City of Cold Lake, who quickly accepted the three-year agreement.

“They (Portage College) were faced with a deficit in operating the men's hockey program. They were looking for a way to keep the team viable. Council was willing to allocate $100,000 each year over the next three years to bring the team to Cold Lake. We felt that this is more than just the men's hockey program, this is also about the relationship between the city and Portage College,” explained Cold Lake Mayor Craig Copeland.

A review of the decision to move the team was completed by college administration and, on June 14, Portage announced that their original agreement with Cold Lake will remain intact.

In a press release dated June 14, Portage officials stated while they appreciate the support given to the team by Lac La Biche County, and the powerful emotions behind the move, “the difficult decision to move the team is part of the administration's responsibility to ensure the team's long term survival and the college's success.”

“We're very excited,” expressed Copeland. “Our council was very supportive of having a men's hockey program and building on our relationship with Portage College.”

He believes that the addition of the Voyageurs will compliment the continued growth the college is seeing. Most recently, the Cold Lake campus was approved for a multi-million dollar expansion.

“When you vision out what Portage College is going to be in five to 10 years from now, it's going to be great for the Cold Lake area.”

The economic spin-off will be beneficial to local realtors, hotels, motels, and restaurants. Players and staff will be searching for places to live, while visiting teams will be coming to the city and staying in local hotels. The games will be aired Canada-wide online, something Copeland believes will help promote Cold Lake and what it has to offer.

“Being a part of high level hockey is very exciting,” Copeland added.

The city will start looking into how they will allocate ice time at the Energy Centre, in order to accommodate the Voyageurs moving in.

Copeland added younger players in the area are also benefitting from the agreement. Players looking to stay close to home while continuing their education will now have the opportunity to do so.

“We felt this was about hockey and about keeping and building upon a community college. When you look at trying to build a community, having college education for your students is important. We're trying to expand with Portage, and this will be what we hope is the first of other collegiate sports to be offered in Cold Lake.”

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