West Fargo Hockey is all about the kids.

Posted: Jun 17 2022

West Fargo Stampede Hockey is all about the kids. For more than forty years, they have provided the youth of West Fargo and surrounding areas the opportunity to grow and develop as hockey players. This past season, the club included more than 700 players from ages three to fourteen.

The sport of hockey is fast paced and high priced. Ice time rental is the club’s biggest expense, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars per year alone. And, as players develop in the program into more advanced and competitive teams, the cost to compete goes up. Thankfully, West Fargo Hockey has been a beneficiary of charitable gaming for more than twenty years. The revenue generated from charitable gaming keeps hockey costs low, so families can afford to participate.
“It would be difficult for our club to function if it weren’t for charitable gaming,” explains West Fargo Hockey Charitable Gaming Director Jason Campbell. “It helps our program immensely and really pays for the entire program. It keeps registration (costs) down, it supplies jerseys for our program, and it pays for the administrative staff that keeps the organization running. As you get into the more advanced level of competition it pays for our coaching staff and their travel expenses.”

More importantly, charitable gaming helps grow the sport by introducing new players at little to no cost.
“Charitable gaming allows for first-year hockey players to play for free,” said Campbell. “It also helps provide introductory bags for first-time players, so they have a few of the items they need to compete. Our organization would really be a quarter of what it is because three-quarters of our parents would be paying thousands of dollars out of pocket and that’s not affordable.”

West Fargo Hockey has eight gaming sites in and around West Fargo. They have Blackjack, electronic pull tabs, paddle wheel, paper pull tabs, bingo and raffles. These games contribute to the state and local economy as well. West Fargo Hockey pays hundreds of thousands of dollars each year in charitable gaming tax, which in turn, goes back into the state coffers.
“Charitable gaming pays for 16 full-time jobs and then another 70 part-time and seasonal jobs,” Campbell said.

Ultimately, as beneficiaries of charitable gaming, West Fargo Hockey can meet their club objective to promote, develop and administer competitive hockey by offering high quality coaching, adequate ice time for practice and skill development, and exposure to advanced competition through participation in high caliber games and tournaments.

“This is about the kids and youth of West Fargo. Youth sports provides young kids with structure and discipline and keeping kids healthy and active in an organized setting. It really is all about the kids and growing the sport,” Campbell said.