Alcohol will be prohibited at this weekend’s Montana Pond Hockey Classic in downtown Kalispell after the city council denied a request for a special event permit at Tuesday night’s meeting, sparking frustration and disappointment among organizers and sponsors.
Councilors voted 5-4 to prohibit the sale and consumption of alcohol at Woodland Park during the three-day hockey tournament, which will feature 61 teams and more than 400 participants from across the U.S. and Canada.
The event host — the Kalispell Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitor Bureau — was seeking permission from the city to hold the tournament at the park and allow alcohol consumption after warm weather forced organizers to relocate the event from its original location at Foys Lake.
The city council unanimously approved the special event permit, allowing the tournament to be held in Woodland Park, but only after amending the permit to prohibit alcohol on site.
The amendment narrowly passed, with councilors Phil Guiffrida, Tim Kluesner, Chad Graham and Rod Kuntz voting to disallow alcohol consumption at the park and Mayor Mark Johnson casting the deciding vote. Councilors Jim Atkinson, Kari Gabriel, Sandy Carlson and Wayne Saverud voted against the motion.
The decision sparked outcry from one of the event’s main sponsors, Tamarack Brewing Company, and disappointment among organizers.
“They really missed an opportunity to highlight what the city of Kalispell can do. I don’t think this puts Kalispell in a very positive light for tourism,” said Josh Townsley, owner of Tamarack Brewing Company, a partner of the pond hockey tournament that served beers at last year’s inaugural event.
“This absolutely hurts tourism dollars and opportunity, and it’s frustrating that the city is willing to alienate a large segment of tourists.”
Diane Medler, director of the Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau, expressed frustration about the council’s decision but said she remains optimistic that the event would remain successful.
“It’s unfortunate that we won’t be able to serve beer at the event but we respect the city council’s decision. We will make sure the players have a very enjoyable time,” she said.
The situation brought to the forefront Kalispell’s ordinance that deals with alcohol consumption on public property, a controversial issue that dates back two years when the council debated the topic at length. The council eventually approved an ordinance that requires applicants to submit special event permits three weeks prior to an event that would be reviewed by city staff and councilors before being possibly issued.
A brewfest and hockey tournament was held in Woodland Park last month, but councilors noted that the organizers submitted the special event permit application three weeks beforehand.
The application for this weekend’s pond hockey tournament was submitted this week after organizers made a last-minute decision to move the event to Woodland Park because of warm weather that created unsafe conditions at Foys Lake.
“I’m a proponent of things that support the economy. But we set specific rules within that ordinance and that municipal code, and one of the rules is that the application must be submitted in a timely fashion for review,” Guiffrida, the councilor who proposed the amendment prohibiting alcohol at the event, told the Beacon.
“I’m absolutely against variances, because then the council is picking winners and losers. That’s dangerous.”
Guiffrida and others who supported the motion said the city would be setting a bad precedent if it disregarded the three-week rule and still allowed alcohol consumption at Woodland Park.
“I’m very frustrated and I’m very disappointed for the chamber and what’s happened for the event, but just because I like them doesn’t mean I can change the law,” Mayor Johnson said. “This ordinance is very black and white. It’s our job to make sure municipal code is followed. We need to stay within the parameters of the law.”
Another concern involved the boundaries at Woodland Park where alcohol could be consumed, with some councilors worried that people would be drinking throughout park, when the ordinance only allows for consumption within the established hockey rink. Also, some members worried about alcohol consumption taking place at the park at the same time as a sled hockey clinic with disabled children that is also planned at Woodland this weekend.
“There were a variety of issues and variances that I was not comfortable with,” Guiffrida said.
Medler said the organizers had followed the weather forecasts closely and until late last week it appeared the ice at Foys Lake would be stable enough to hold the event. However, recent temperatures in the 50s and 60s raised safety concerns, leading the KCVB to make a last-minute change and seek to hold the event at a backup location. Woodland Park was the best option, Medler said.
Medler said there have not been any teams that canceled following the announcement of the location change on Tuesday.
Townsley said he was concerned that teams would cancel, or not return for future events, because of the council’s decision to prohibit beer drinking after hockey games at the park.
“Over 60 percent of the teams are from out of town. We all know the positive impact that Canadians have on our community. But this takes away something from an event that is a highlight for a lot of people,” Townsley said. “(The city council’s) priority obviously isn’t tourism or developing an urban core in Kalispell.”
Others disagreed with Townsley’s claim.
“I reject the idea that this event isn’t going to be successful due to a lack of alcohol,” Graham told the Beacon. “There are people in our community who are looking for events where there isn’t alcohol and they can take their family and kids. I have 100 percent confidence that this event will be successful.”
Kluesner said he does not think the success of an event should be solely tied to alcohol consumption.
“I understand that people like to drink alcohol. I love beer. I’m a brewery fan. But when you tie the success of an event and something that’s touted as a family event as well, then you start to really run a thin line on the legitimacy of it,” Kluesner said.
Scott Crowder, commissioner of the Pond Hockey Classic, which operates other tournaments across the nation, said it was unfortunate that the city council voted the way it did, but he does not believe the decision would ultimately determine the Kalispell tournament’s success.
“From my standpoint, it’s really unfortunate that the board decided to go that way. But you can’t control politics. Hopefully they thought it was in the best interest of the town,” Crowder said. “It’s not going to make or break the event. It’s certainly an aspect of the event that makes them what they are — pond hockey and a cold beer afterward kind of go hand in hand. But it’s out of our control.”