February’s Pond Hockey Classic received positive reviews despite a last-minute venue change, according to Kalispell Convention and Visitor Bureau Director Diane Medler.

She talked to the Kalispell City Council at a work session Monday and shared the results of a survey sent out to the event’s participants. Woodland Park was a hit, Medler said, but one thing would need to change to hold the event there in the future.

“That’s what I need to discuss with the promoter,” she said. “Obviously our ability to serve beer is a big factor to keep it at Woodland Park.”

Organizers had to change the planned pond-hockey venue at Foy’s Lake. Warm February weather caused ice conditions at the lake to be less than ideal if not unsafe.

Medler approached the City Council with a permit request just days before the Pond Hockey Classic was set to start. The council granted the request with one exception: Alcohol wouldn’t be allowed.

At Monday’s session, council members discussed the possibility of changing the rules to permit events such as pond hockey to serve alcohol at a public park.

“Personally, I want to see this event in town again,” Mayor Mark Johnson said.

Having the hockey tournament inside city limits had its benefits, Medler told the council. There were  60 teams with 49 coming from out of town. That included 18 Canadian teams and some that came from as far away as Connecticut.

Participants who responded to the survey said that having restaurants and hotels closer to the event worked in Woodland’s favor. With seven rinks set up on the park ponds, they maintained that outdoor pond atmosphere.

And without alcohol sales at the event, area bars received a big boost over that weekend. But that hindered the event in other ways, according to Medler.

“This impacted significantly our vendors,” she said. “Their business was really, really low. People did not stick around the event.”

Perhaps the most affected was Tamarack Brewing, the company that was contracted for on-site beer sales before the alcohol provision was rejected.

In February, council members debated the safety and cultural concerns surrounding alcohol at a city park event. The alcohol provision was defeated on a 5-4 vote, though it was more due to technicalities. 

The city ordinance for events with alcohol requires a three-week notice and limits the designated area for drinking. The Pond Hockey Classic couldn’t meet those provisions as presented this year.

Council members discussed Monday how that could change in the future. That could come through ordinance changes that provide for wider discretion.

Council member Jim Atkinson pointed out that alcohol sales at these events can drive huge profits, often to benefit nonprofit organizations. But he echoed some concern about making a change that opens the door to a slippery slope.

“Depending on how you word it, how you say it, someone else is going to want it somewhere else,” Atkinson said, “and it’s going to look like the policy allows it to happen.”

At the core of the discussion was whether or not alcohol consumption could be expanded at events in city parks. The council created the current ordinance years ago to accommodate drinking at the Craft Brewers Cup tournament.

The Pond Hockey Classic would need a larger fenced area to contain its drinking spectators. Medler said that the visitor bureau is considering Woodland Park as the primary venue for the future, pending some changes to the city’s rules.

“The key to get it back in Kalispell, from what I’m hearing, is the alcohol and the perimeter,” council member Phil Guiffrida.

At the end of discussion, council members indicated that they may bring proposed rule changes up for an official reading at the next few council meetings. The next regular meeting will be on April 20.

Reach reporter Matt Hudson at 758-4459 or by email at mhudson@dailyinterlake.com.