SOMBA K'E/YELLOWKNIFE - Even though the Yellowknife Royal Canadian Legion has sold its downtown building to the owner of Headgear, the Legion's headquarters will live on - albeit with less space.

The sale was confirmed last week by Brian Campbell, president of the Yellowknife branch.

"When I became president (in December 2008), looking at the financial situation, we were in a mess and there was no way that the Legion should have even been open," said Campbell.

Under the deal with Dan Hayward, whose company, Aurora Auto, owns Headgear, the Legion will keep a portion of the main floor of the building, located at the corner of Franklin Avenue and 48 Street, said Campbell.

Hayward purchased the hall under the understanding that Headgear would be in the majority of the upstairs, and a portion of the upstairs - we'll say 1,700 to 2,000 square feet - would be the new legion," said Campbell.

"We may be able to only seat 60 to 100 people, depending on what the fire marshal comes up with after renovations are done, but that's going to be big enough for what we need," he added. "That will suit our purpose for our dart night, for the pool league, or Friday night meat draws. We'll still be doing that. And we'll also have flat-screen TVs for ... Ultimate Fighting."

The seat count "has dropped enough where we can survive because of the lease we got."

Keeping the legion open was becoming increasingly difficult, said Campbell. By his count, the organization currently has 320 members - only 150 of whom are "active" - compared to approximately 600 members five years ago.

"It's a shame that we have to sell the Legion. That was something that we never wanted to do. But there comes a point in time where you just don't have the money and you have to do something.

"How can you pay $30,000 a year for fuel and $25,000 a year for lights and survive off what it was coming down to - five or six beer a night?"

Meanwhile, Hayward is planning to move his sports apparel store into the building

"I'm hoping to be there in January" after five years in the Centre Square Mall, said Hayward.

"I'm thinking that it's time to move out of the mall," he said, adding that his business will move to a building "where, when you walk into the front door, it's going to be hopefully clean.

"The people can come without having people stumbling over them halfway through the mall.

"It's not like I have anything against street people - they're good friends of mine, and I use a lot of them for labour," said Hayward, "but it's just that Mom and the two kids don't want to come down."

With Hayward on the way out, Headgear's soon-to-be-vacant space in the mall is attracting attention, according to Aaron Hernandez, manager of CD Plus.

"I know everyone's looking at it," said Hernandez.