Local news delivered daily to your email inbox. Subscribe for FREE to the rdnewsNOW newsletter.
The Eagle Builders Centre in Blackfalds, home to the AJHL's newest team, will host the AJHL Showcase this September. (rdnewsNOW/Josh Hall)
To Host AJHL Showcase In September

Eagle Builders Centre in Blackfalds officially complete

Feb 4, 2022 | 2:37 PM

Work on the new Eagle Builders Centre in Blackfalds is now officially complete.

Mayor Jamie Hoover says he couldn’t be more thrilled to see the completion of this long-awaited project.

“Considering the times and challenges that we were faced, it was something that in concept, was imagined for quite some time in our community,” says Hoover.

The facility’s prime tenant of course, is the Alberta Junior Hockey League’s (AJHL) Blackfalds Bulldogs

“Having the Bulldogs, which is an extremely well-supported team by the owner Doug Quinn, it was his goal to make his franchise the best in Canada to play in one of the best facility’s in Canada,” says Hoover.

“This also allows us to have cultural events, particularly concerts, for the town of Blackfalds and the size that we are, the Eagle Builders Centre is just incredible,” adds Hoover.

Hoover says he has already been contacted by music promoters and organizations looking to hold music events, trade shows, and a rodeo event in the facility’s future.

Hoover suggests there is much the Town can do to maximize the facility’s potential.

“There are lots of options with this facility, but in terms of a municipality with having to staff that building, we don’t know yet,” he admits. “We have to see what the patterns are and it’s a learning curve for our staff to get used to operating that facility. It’s just much more than we have had in the past. It’s a lot for us to have with a municipality of 11,000. With a community this size, we wouldn’t have to staff something that size normally.”

With hockey being the predominate attraction, however, Mayor Hoover points to the upcoming AJHL showcase in September as an example of the facility’s potential.

“Scouts from the NHL and other professional hockey leagues will be in Blackfalds in September and October. That in itself will shine a spotlight on Blackfalds and its facility.”