It was only March 15th, when the WCBL's Sylvan Lake Gulls announced their name and branding at the Hockey Central Sports Lounge. What followed, was the COVID-19 pandemic and new restrictions and regulations which were made to keep the public safe but in turn, made business difficult for many different people. 

“Our name unveil was actually the day that everything got shut down. In the morning, it was 250 people and by the time we got the unveil done, the next day it switched to 50, and the lockdown the quarantine officially started. It’s been a trying time that’s for sure. It kind of slowed down our progress a little bit but we just did a quick video released today on social media saying we’re back up and pushing hard towards 2021,” said Aqil Samuel, General Manager and President of Baseball Operations earlier this week. 

The inaugural season for the Sylvan Lake Gulls was always 2021 and Samuel says scheduling has not changed due to the pandemic. The development at the park is starting to take shape and in a short time, those who pass by Pogadl Park will be able to see changes very soon. 

“Select Engineering is the engineering company that we hired out of Edmonton and they’ve been pushing ahead to do this the whole time. We hired Eagle Builders out of Blackfalds to pour the concrete forms for the backstop and for the seats and those are being poured. They’re going to get them done in their facility in Blackfalds and ship them down the highway and get them in place.”

“People are going to start to see the physical process up at Pogadl Park. We’ll start to see that soon within days and weeks. As they’re driving by on Highway 11, people will be able to look to the North and see stuff happen,” added Samuel. 

Although construction wasn’t necessarily pushed back because of the pandemic Samuel noted that there were a few things on pause. Searching for investors, understandably became difficult as some were forced to pull out of their partnership with the Gulls to manage the difficult economy. Additionally, Sylvan Lake Gull’s website development and online store was put on hold. 

Now as more business open up and adjust to the ‘new normal,’ Samuel says the Gulls are up and running once again and working hard towards their first season. 

“We’re back online and pushing ahead as all the other businesses come back online now. It’s time to re-look at investments and advertising and all the rest of that,” said Samuel.         

Their web developer is working to have a running website by July where merchandise and season tickets will be on sale for the public. 

Since the big unveil in March, Samuel says the community has really shown their support of the brand. After a few months of pause, they are excited to get going once again. 

“There’s been some great feedback from folks. We did a great job on social media getting that out there. The feedback has been great but the pandemic just slowed everything down. We just put everything on pause and like I said now were ready to press play,” explained Samuel. 

If you’re looking for more information on the Sylvan Lake Gulls, Samuel provided a video update on their progress on the team’s Facebook page.