Whitehorse residents may once again get to show off their hometown pride and hockey spirit to the rest of the country.

City council is set to consider signing off on a letter confirming its interest in being part of the Rogers Hometown Hockey tour in 2016.

The show will start its second season this fall on Sportsnet. It sees host Ron MacLean visit 24 communities over the course of the season and feature hockey stories from each of those areas.

As MacLean states on the Hometown Hockey website: “Last season, we began on a journey to uncover the great hockey stories that run deep within this country’s fabric, and share them with all Canadians.

That backyard rink, those local heroes.

“Hockey in Canada is a love story – a story with no end, and we look forward to discovering our collective passion once again next year.”

Coun. John Streicker said in an interview this morning that when Rogers expressed an interest in coming north, city officials began working with company officials on the possibility.

“We had such a great experience with Hockey Day In Canada,” Streicker said, recalling Whitehorse being featured in 2011 on CBC’s telecast event celebrating hockey across the country.

It also featured McLean and other celebrities like Don Cherry and former NHL stars.

As Streicker pointed out, such events bring many positive benefits to the city.

Not only do they encourage kids to get excited about sport, but they also help showcase the city – in this case, in January – at a time of year that may not otherwise get much attention.

And there’s also the revenue that comes in having a television crew in town.

As a report set to go to council this evening sums up:

“The community benefits and economic impact of hosting an event such as this in January 2016 are significant.

“The event includes broadcasts of the event directly from the community and is an excellent opportunity to showcase the city and the Yukon as well as the community’s love of hockey.”

Part of the telecast includes the creation of a new outdoor rink.

Streicker suggested it would be great to see it featured either around Front Street and Main Street, which previously marked the start/finish line of the Yukon Quest International Sled Dog Race, or at the SS Klondike, using the historic paddle wheeler as a backdrop for the telecast.

Asked whether he has any worries about the extremely cold temperatures January can bring, Streicker pointed out the success of the 2007 Canada Winter Games despite the -40 C temperatures some days.

“We’ll show we’re resilient,” he said, adding more hot chocolate might be made for such cold temperatures.

Rogers covers the financial costs associated with the Hometown Hockey event.

Host communities are typically asked for in-kind support (such as barricades, parking for vehicles associated with the show, tables and chairs and so on).

Other communities that have played host to the event have said the value of in-kind services for the show last season was anywhere from $8,000 to $15,000.

Council is expected to vote on whether to sign off on the letter at its July 13 meeting.

If council opts to sign off on the letter, an organizing committee would be formed to work with Rogers if Whitehorse is selected as a featured community.