About one hour east of Yorkton is Ituna – a small town that has recently received a huge recognition.
Ituna is one of two communities in Canada chosen as finalists for the Kraft Hockeyville competition.
The prize for the winner of the entire competition has a value of $500,000, which includes proceeds from the NHL game hosted in the winning town in September of 2017.
If Ituna wins, that game will be held in a larger Saskatchewan centre. The money raised will go towards upgrading the Ituna Arena.
Ituna is running against O’Leary, P.E.I. for the title.
If Ituna Arena wins the grand prize, the funds would go towards a safe and sound structure, a new ice surface, capabilities to have ice not dependent on seasonal weather and separate female/male dressing rooms, to name a few. They plan on carrying over some of their existing equipment, including boards, glass, furnaces and kitchen equipment. If they cannot upgrade the arena, they will be forced to close.
Voting for the final two closed late on Monday night. The winner will be announced on April 1 on Hockey Night in Canada.