The newly improved entrance to the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum (Photo supplied)

By Troy Gillard

PROVINCIAL FUNDING REMAINS ON HOLD

Future in limbo for Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum

Aug 19, 2020 | 1:40 PM

It’s down to crunch time for the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum.

The not-for-profit organization in Red Deer receives the majority of its annual operating funding from the provincial government. To date, they have received only 25 per cent of their funding for 2020 with no indication when, or if, they’ll see the rest.

This along with the cancellation of their two largest annual fundraising events, their induction ceremony in May and golf tournament in August, due to COVID-19 has left them in a dire situation.

“We’re relying on the public to come out and support us through museum admissions, booking parties, boardroom rentals, that sort of thing,” says Executive Director Tracey Kinsella.

The province dissolved the Alberta Sport Connection in October, meaning the hall of fame and museum now falls under Alberta’s Culture, Multiculturalism and Status of Women ministry

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An advocacy group has stepped forward to lobby the province to come through with the rest of the hall of fame’s funding. The group includes the likes of honoured members Jamie Sale, Kurt Browning, Beckie Scott, Dale Henwood and Stan Schwartz along with local community members.

Kinsella says the very future of the Alberta Sports Hall of Fame and Museum is at stake.

“If we let that go, where does that history lie? That’s the biggest concern. Preserving sports history is important, as are all museums.”

Before reopening to the public on July 2, Kinsella says they took advantage of the pandemic shutdown to enhance and expand their facilities.

“A fresh coat of paint, some new exhibits, we built a birthday party/team party room that was a really big addition. We’ve got a brand new entrance to the museum and a beautiful new mural honouring some of our athletes and sports heroes, and a new toddler area.”

Kinsella says a planned revamp of the honoured members’ gallery is on hold for the time being. She noted that the Alberta Museums Association, which provides project-specific grant funding to groups like theirs, also had its provincial funding cut by 37 per cent.

Kinsella says they have a meeting scheduled in September with Red Deer MLAs Adriana LaGrange and Jason Stephan to discuss the urgency of their situation.