Three Dallas Stars employees used their positions with the National Hockey League team and atop prominent youth hockey nonprofit organizations to profit at thousands of families’ expense, a USA TODAY investigation found.
USA TODAY reviewed more than 40 official tournament rulebooks detailing the requirements, state business filings, travel agency registries, website archives and invoices from two tournament hotels that charged $162 to $175 per night after taxes. Most tournaments required a minimum three-night stay; some required four.
Stay-to-play requirements are somewhat common across youth sports and maddening to many parents. The tournament's host organization typically gets a cut of the hotel booking revenue, and occasionally a third-party company that works with the hotels also gets a cut. The difference in this instance is that, as opposed to an independent entity, the kickbacks were paid to the same individuals who were responsible for organizing, supervising, and formulating the tournament rules. And those people had multiple conflicts of interest.
Boettcher, Reid and Buckland carried out the operation not only while they were Stars employees, but while Reid served as president of the nonprofit Texas Amateur Hockey Association – the USA Hockey affiliate that acts as the governing body overseeing youth and adult hockey in Texas and Oklahoma – and Buckland served as secretary.
One of the association’s primary responsibilities is facilitating tournaments for its members – the same tournaments from which Reid and Buckland personally profited – by validating that they comply with USA Hockey rules. Although the president and secretary do not personally vote on which tournaments should be approved, they do vote on changes to policies and procedures and set the association's agenda. A proposal for a new rule barring stay-to-play requirements, for instance, would have to go through them.
Parents whose membership fees support the nonprofit expect its board members to act in their interests. Yet two of those board members had a financial incentive to ensure families kept paying for unwanted hotel stays.
As of January, the three employees appear to no longer work for the Stars. Buckland and Reid remain on the board of the Texas Amateur Hockey Association. Reid and Buckland did not respond to phone or email messages seeking comment. In an emailed statement, Boettcher denied any wrongdoing. He declined to be interviewed and did not answer specific questions about the arrangement from USA TODAY.
According to Boettcher's statement, "Our goal, as an independent company, was to facilitate families participating in tournaments in North Texas venues when the lessening threat of Covid finally allowed restoration of more normal activity." “We have always attempted to have all parents and families be satisfied with the choices provided.”
The Stars also declined to answer specific questions about the arrangement from USA TODAY.
“The Dallas Stars are no longer affiliated with Stay2Play LLC and plan to reinstate a new stay-to-play provider for our tournaments this fall,” Stars director of communications Joe Calvillo said in an emailed statement. "The Dallas Stars are dedicated to providing the best possible experience for all players, teams, and families who participate in our leagues and tournaments," reads the organization's statement. USA Hockey officials did not respond to requests for comment. Attorneys representing the Texas Amateur Hockey Association said in an email that they do not consider the arrangement a conflict of interest under USA Hockey rules.
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