Organizers of February’s U.P. Pond Hockey tournament and ice sailing events in St. Ignace have found an alternative site near Green Island in case Moran Bay ice does not form sufficiently, and with two weeks to go and a mild temperature forecast ahead, they plan to make a decision about the location Thursday, February 2.

The area near Green Island has deep water and good ice, pointed out volunteer Neil Hill at a meeting Tuesday, January 24. The small island is just west of the Mackinac Bridge and people could access the area from Boulevard Drive. This area of Lake Michigan ice will be the back-up location if Moran Bay is not usable.

With a generator, Mr. Hill said, the location could offer electricity for music and heat for tents, the same amenities offered downtown. The Special Events Committee should look into having a hay wagon for a shuttle and possibly plowing a nearby field for additional parking, he suggested.

The small inland Chain Lake nearby Moran Bay had also been considered as a back-up location, but it doesn’t offer enough public access, Mr. Hill said.

The bay was full of water just two weeks before pond hockey last year, Downtown Development Authority Director Deb Evashevski reminded the committee.

Mark Sposito, committee chairman, said the group would likely make a firm decision on location sometime between Friday, February 3, and Sunday, February 5.

Hotel rooms are filling up, and Cheryl Schlehuber said St. Ignace should begin referring potential visitors to surrounding communities for lodging. Commutes more than 10 minutes long discourage visitors, as does the toll on the Mackinac Bridge, she said. She suggested that St. Ignace could refer people to Mackinaw City lodging in exchange for a small fee per room, or in exchange for offering free shuttle service across the bridge.

“You want to give them rooms so they can come to our event,” Mrs. Schlehuber said.

Janet Peterson, director of the St. Ignace Chamber of Commerce, said she would not be comfortable referring callers to specific motels in Mackinaw City, but does normally refer them to the Mackinaw City Chamber of Commerce when all the St. Ignace motels are full. Mackinaw City does the same for St. Ignace, she said.

If all the motels that are members of the St. Ignace Chamber are full but non-members in St. Ignace are not full, Mrs. Peterson said she refers callers to the Visitors Bureau.

The situation would be best handled, Mr. Sposito suggested, by leaving the Chamber and Visitors Bureau to follow their own policies on referrals.

The committee has rented the taxi company for pond hockey weekend February 18 and 19, and taxis and vans will be available free of charge from 5 p.m. Thursday, February 16, until the bars close, then Friday and Saturday that weekend from noon until the bars close, Mr. Sposito said. During the World Ice and Snow Sailing Association championships the following weekend, athletes will ride free, but others will have to pay.

The number for taxi dispatch is 643-6666, and Pond Hockey sponsor Labatt’s will make big posters to hang in restaurants and bars to make sure the phone number is available and obvious, Mr. Sposito said.

The committee learned State Senator Howard Walker will attend the opening ceremonies for the ice sailing world championships, according to his office staff, and State Representative Frank Foster has been invited and is expected to attend. Opening ceremonies for those events will be at 5 p.m. Sunday, February 19, at St. Ignace Middle School.