The Ely Arena may be one of the busiest places in town this winter.
Along with being the home to local youth, high school and even adult-league and a community skating haven, the arena will most certainly also be a community economic driver- during the dead of winter.
Not one, not two, not three, but four weekends in the next month-and-a-half, the arena will host hundreds of youth hockey players, parents and fans for tournaments hosted by the Ely Blue Line Club.
The action starts the weekend of Jan. 9-11, when eight teams and more than 100 players take part in the Squirts Howler Tournament.
That event is followed the weekends of Jan. 30-Feb. 1 and Feb. 7-8 for Pee Wee level and Mite and Mini-Mite level Howler tournaments. Those tournaments call for eight teams and then 14 over back-to-back weekends.
The grand finale is set for Feb. 13-15, when Ely is home to the District 12 Pee Wee B District Tournament, with another seven or eight teams taking part.
Depending on the weekend, teams will come from as far away as the Twin Cities suburbs of Blaine, Stillwater and Hastings, as well as New Richmond, Wisc., Superior, Mankato, Roseau, Chisago Lakes, Duluth, Two Harbors and International Falls, and from across the Iron Range.
Motels, hotels, restaurants and other attractions are sure to benefit from the influx of people during an otherwise quiet time of the year.
“There are going to be so many people coming in over these four weekends that will have a huge impact on our town,” said Allie Pace, tournament coordinator for the Blue Line, which coordinates Ely’s youth hockey program.
Historically, Ely has hosted one tournament per year - the Mite and Mini-Mite Howler that’s now in its 10th season.
But the organization added Squirt and Pee Wee regular season tournaments, and Ely was selected to host the Pee Wee district event, which runs in conjunction with Presidents’ Day weekend and involves eight teams in a double-elimination event.
While spectators pay admission fees for the district tournament in mid-February, the remaining events carry no admission charge.
In addition to watching the youth hockey action, spectators can purchase tickets for raffle items at each tournament, with prizes including hotel stays at Fortune Bay Resort Casino, autographed hockey memorabilia, tickets to Ely’s Historic State Theater, North American Bear Center and Inter-national Wolf Center, ice fishing gear, lottery tickets, hockey themes baskets, an Ely Vet Clinic spay or neuter voucher, and various local business gift certificates.
Pace said Ely’s business community stepped up, not only to contribute prizes, but in other ways.
“Not only do these tournaments require a huge amount of volunteer time to pull them off, they also are made possible by the incredible community support,” said Pace. “So many businesses and individuals have donated financially to help purchase medals, trophies and hustle awards. They have also donated amazing raffle items. Zup’s has consistently gone above and beyond donating snacks and treats for player goodie bags. The tournament weekends in the past have been so much fun to show all the other teams how great our town is.”
The prizes are just part of the attraction as participants and spectators may sample expanded food and beverage options at the rink.
Along with the usual fare such as pizza, popcorn, hot dogs and sweets, hungry hockey players or those just looking for a snack can try burgers, chicken nuggets and french fries thanks in part to a new air fryer purchased by the club. The tournaments will also have pulled pork or brisket sandwiches and nachos, with the smoked meat donated by Bob-A-Que.
First out of the chute are the Squirt players, who generally range in age from 9-11.
Eight teams will play 26 games over the course of the weekend, which starts with action on Jan. 9.
In addition to the host Ely team, others in the tournament are Blaine Blue, Blaine White, New Richmond, North Shore Black, North Shore Grey, Proctor and Mesabi East.
The Pee Wees range from age 11-13 and they follow Jan 30-Feb. 1, with Ely joined by Roseau, Chisago Lakes, Stillwater, Superior, International Falls, Mankato, Roseau and Hastings.
Some of the youngest hockey players are at the Mite and Mini-Mite level, with players under age nine and the jamboree Feb. 7-8 involving 14 teams, using both the Ely and Babbitt rinks.
The Ely teams will host teams from Rock Ridge, Duluth Heights, International Falls, Mesabi East, Twig and Woodland (Duluth) with communities in most cases bringing multiple teams.
The district Pee Wee tournament closes things out and that’s the only event with an admission fee, tentatively set for $5 per day or $10 for a weekend pass.
