By Matt Nemeth @CHATTVMNemeth - CHAT News MedicineHat

No April Fool’s Joke – Medicine Hat Tells Tigers to Leave Arena

Mar 31, 2016 | 9:09 PM

MEDICINE HAT:   Sign on the dotted line or get out. That’s the message the city is sending the Medicine Hat Tigers today.

At a last minute news conference Thursday afternoon, Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston said the city has served an eviction notice to the Tigers. The news release states that the Tigers must immediately vacate the Canalta Centre, if no long-term lease is in place by April 7th at noon. The release also says that the Tigers have to restore any occupied space to its previous condition by that time.

SMG venue management runs the Canalta Centre for the city, and has been negotiating a long lease with the Tigers for two and a half years. Clugston says it essentially boils down to enough is enough. For months both sides have said they’re very close to reaching a deal, but today’s development is an abrupt change from that narrative.

 Right before training camp started in August, a temporary access agreement was signed by SMG and the team. The city says over the course of the season, that agreement was renewed 11 times, with the last such agreement expiring March 24. Clugston says they hoped there would be a last minute deal, but the majority of council is on board with this decision.

 “We have to act. I think the city and SMG has been very patient waiting through the entire hockey season, and now it was time to make a move,” said Clugston citing their responsibility to taxpayers.

Nighttime construction on Hwy 3 in Lethbridge starts April 17

Apr 17, 2025

SASHA launches #BuyABed fundraiser to support vulnerable Lethbridge residents

Apr 04, 2025

$20K grants available: TELUS STORYHIVE Pan-Asian Edition opens applications April 1

Mar 18, 2025

 We reached out to the Tigers for their reaction to this move from the city, but they directed us to get in touch with the WHL instead. However Ron Robison, the league commissioner, wasn’t available to speak either. Clugston says the league has been helping both sides try to find a resolution to this issue.

 When asked what’s stopping a deal from happening, Clugston said there are a few items, but that the main thing leading to the eviction notice was the fact there’s no long-term lease. And he says that all lease agreements come down to money.

 “No other landlord, be it the mall or a business downtown, would allow a tenant to stay in their property without a lease,” said Clugston when speaking with reporters after the announcement.

 The city says SMG is available at a moment’s notice, should the Tigers decide to come back to the bargaining table before the April 7 deadline. What remains unclear is what will happen next season if they choose not to.