Taber nominated for Kraft Hockeyville following arena explosion

It's been nearly three weeks since an explosion at Taber's arena forced the town's hockey and curling rinks to close.

On Dec. 17, an explosion occurred in one of the Taber Ice Arena’s Zamboni rooms.

Fortunately, no one was injured, but it caused major damage, forcing the town to close the rink.

That explosion damaged the walls, roof and gas lines, shutting the building down indefinitely.

The cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

“Difficult thing we’re going through here right now with the explosion that occurred. And it’s just coming together with everything involved there. And we’re just very, very thankful that nothing occurred as far as any injuries,” said Taber Mayor Andrew Prokop.

Help with repairing the rink may be on the way, with the town nominated for this year’s Kraft Hockeyville.

The annual contest awards communities money for arena upgrades.

Taber has been nominated previously, but now the need is greater than ever before.

“It’s been awesome. The momentum seems like it’s really behind us. People from all over Alberta. I’ve seen some comments from P.E.I. rooting for us and everywhere else,” said Taylor Gouw, Taber Minor Hockey Association vice-president.

“It’s pretty exciting.”

For its 20th anniversary, Kraft Hockeyville is giving more communities a chance to win.

One community from every province and territory in Canada will win $50,000.

The runner-up will receive $100,000, while the grand prize is $250,000.

“Hockey’s huge in Taber. And there are many ice user groups involved here,” said Prokop.

While the money is the focus, the winning community will also get to host an NHL pre-season game.

It would be an event the town would never forget.

“Yeah, that would be awesome. There’s so much stuff you can do around that. … And that $250,000 could go a long way for us here in Taber,” said Gouw.

“It would be really good.”

Community nominations are open until March 1, and the winning community will be announced April 4.