The black safety netting around the Pason Green Arena has been a point of contention for the Okotoks Oilers for several years now.

It's been present since the construction of the arena in 2006 and is meant to shield Oilers fans, and anyone else in the arena, from rogue pucks.

From the Okotoks Oilers' perspective, it's largely an obstruction both for cameras and fans.

The addition of a video scoreboard made the issue even worse, with highlights being filmed through the net as well as attendees having to view the screen through the net.

Tyler King, the assistant general manager of business operations with the Oilers, says having netting around entire rinks isn't actually that common.

"Pucks don't tend to go over the glass in that area and when they do, they don't tend to go over with much velocity. So the danger is very low. That's why the NHL doesn't do it, the WHL doesn't do it, in the British Columbia Hockey league, not a single one of the rinks has netting along the sides. And in the case of the AJHL, 10 out of 16 teams do not have it."

He also notes that the Oilers are the only team in the league to utilize black netting, which can obscure the puck since it's the same colour.

The Oilers have proposed removing the netting on the sides of the rink while keeping it behind the goal and in the corners, where most pucks that leave the rink tend to end up.

The matter has come up a few times in council chambers, with Mayor Bill Robertson and councillor Tanya Thorn having discussed it in 2019, resolving to work with the Oilers to find a solution.

Though the pandemic seems to have gotten in the way of that conversation, it was again featured in the most recent Okotoks town council meeting on Aug. 16, with councillor Tanya Thorn having requested an inquiry into the risks and liabilities associated with the move.

Town administration looked into the matter and concluded that removing portions of the net would pose a risk to spectators as well as other users of the facility including people on the walking track and those who use it for meeting spaces during practices. Ultimately, they did not recommend the netting be removed.

King says he's done a bit of research and found several Alberta teams who have fared well without full netting.

"There's a great example of the Bonnyville Pontiacs, one of the teams in our league, that brought down their netting on one side of the ice, just the side that the cameras look through, and it's been extremely well received, extremely popular, and hasn't come with any major negative consequences for them."

Cost is always a factor in these kinds of decisions, and it's a factor the Oilers have taken into account.

"If there are costs that end up being incurred because of a decision like this that would improve our situation significantly, the Oilers don't believe that should be a freebie. We would be in a position where we would make sure it doesn't require extra cost to the public, and we would want to share in that cost if there was anything that came up on that side," says King.

Though options like retractable, transparent, or thinner white netting are available, King says they'd be happy with just removing it from the sides, even on a short-term basis as a pilot project.

He says the move would benefit the team, the fans, and the town, with the lack of netting possibly opening the doors for bigger televised events to be held on the Pason ice.

On council's part, they reviewed administration's response to councillor Thorn's inquiry in-camera due to the legal and insurance implications.

Later in the meeting, council passed a motion to work with the Oilers to come up with a solution before Dec. 31, 2021.

 

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