By Sean Evans (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: November 23, 2011
The Abbotsford Heat have been doing something they have never done in their short history. Win consistently. This past Saturday, they took their 10th road win in 12 tries, taking down the Oklahoma City Barons 4-2, following a 4-1 loss the night before. The win leaves the Heat tied for first place in the Western Conference.
What has been surprising is that despite losing some key players to the Calgary Flames—TJ Brodie and Paul Byron—the Heat have managed to continue to put forward a solid game, winning five of their last six.
While the Heat have been solid on the ice away from home, trouble looms back in Abbotsford – not on the ice, but off. Just days prior to the municipal election, Vince Dimanno, then candidate for city councilor, released a legal opinion which claimed that the contract between the Abbotsford Heat and the City of Abbotsford is illegal.
The contract in question, signed in the spring of 2009, is a 10-year supply fee agreement. The deal guarantees that the ownership group will receive $5.7 million in revenue, regardless of shortfalls. To put it simply, the City of Abbotsford is subsidizing private business – something that Dimanno, founder of the Abbotsford Ratepayers Association, says is unacceptable and more importantly, illegal.
Dimanno claims that to date, the City of Abbotsford has covered $2.1 million in shortfalls. “Those are city numbers, not mine”, he was quoted as saying in the Abbotsford Times. However, as their sports writer Cam Tucker pointed out, the city numbers tell a different story. To date the city has actually covered shortfalls of $1.7 million. In their freshmen year, the Heat fell short by $450,637 and in their sophomore season they fell short by $1,305,511. A sizable amount of money.
Dimanno hired Andrew Rebane and his legal firm, Yearwood and Company, to write a report on the legality of the contract signed by the city. Speaking with the Abbotsford Times, Rebane stated that “It’s our view that the City of Abbotsford did not have the power to enter into that contract because they failed to put the contract to the electors for approval.”
Quoted in The Province, Dimanno stated that the contract is “a benefit to a business, and a liability to taxpayers.” He then filed a formal complaint with B.C. Attorney-General Shirley Bond, and hopes that she will “investigate, go in front of a judge, and have this contract struck down.”
Dimanno lost the election and it would be easy to dismiss this as political gamesmanship, as the document was released just days before the election in a clear effort to sway votes. Dimanno’s complaint has still been filed with Shirley Bond and prior to the election he committed to continue the fight, no matter the results of the election; this story is not over yet.
While uncertainty surrounds the Heat off the ice, if the team continues to win constantly, perhaps attendance will increase and the team will become profitable. The Heat will be back on home-ice this Friday to take on Houston – who they beat 5-3 on November 10.
