Carol Baldwin
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Wakaw Recorder
Jubilee Arena will open for the season on October 14, and the Town of Wakaw has reached out to businesses in town with a new marketing opportunity.
The Wakaw Jubilee Arena is a busy facility each winter, welcoming upwards of 3000+ visitors each season. These visitors come from centres like Saskatoon, Warman, Martensville, Prince Albert, Wakaw, Tisdale, Humboldt and others.
Besides being the home of the Wakaw Lakers, the arena has become a very popular location for teams from other communities to host games and tournaments. As well, the Cudworth Skate Club is returning for the 2025/26 season, providing its skating program on Wednesdays.
With these many events come many visitors, a letter from Recreation and Community Development Manager, Dwane Burke, notes, adding that visitors are encouraged to spend some of their time while in town at local businesses. In previous seasons, the Town provided businesses with the opportunity to advertise on a flyer that was printed at the Town Office and distributed at the arena during tournaments. This service was provided to businesses at no cost. The flyer program will be replaced this year by a new program designed to generate greater attention and business for participating partners.
The new program will feature season-long advertising rather than just tournament-specific advertising and create a more effective method to help visitors learn about local businesses and encourage them to visit while in town. Participating businesses will create an 11×17-inch advertisement with custom messaging, for example, a QR code feature visitors can scan, which will take them to the business’s social media pages or website, where they will get the most updated information. The advertisement will be placed in a frame and hung in a place of the business’s choosing within the arena.
Many arena visitors have time to spare when at the arena, whether it is between games, between periods, during practices, or during warm-ups. The arena often has returning customers, as some attend more than one tournament a year, or they revisit Wakaw season after season, as regular customers who book tournaments each season. Other returning customers are visiting teams that play the Lakers during their SVMHL season. Arena advertising, Burke says, creates the opportunity for individuals to learn about local businesses during one visit, then make plans for their next visit.
Another advertising opportunity involves the lobby viewing window. Since many visitors choose to view games and practices from the lobby, as Burke points out, the lobby windows provide a great opportunity for advertising partners to be in ‘front of the audience.’ Each glass panel of the lobby window can hold an advertisement decal that can remain in place for a two-year term.
Town of Wakaw businesses are being provided the first opportunity to purchase an advertising package. After October 15th, any remaining spaces will be offered to other businesses.
The Town works with Wakaw Minor Hockey, Cudworth Skate Club, Wakaw School, the recreation board, and residents to make the most of its facilities and provide affordable recreational opportunities for the community. The Town and its residents take pride in maintaining the arena so it can be a safe and welcoming facility. Businesses committing to this new advertising opportunity will assist the Town in its work to continue achieving this goal. Partnerships between businesses and the Town can be beneficial to both parties by providing additional advertising opportunities for businesses and assistance for the Town in improving its infrastructure.
