Why Ice Hockey is becoming and elitist sport

As many of you know,I play hockey. I play street hockey, knee hockey, pond hockey and ice hockey. Hockey runs through my veins like a rushing river. However the sport is becoming very elitist. More and more families simply can't afford to put thier kids in ice hockey. More adults can't afford to enroll in a pick-up league. Many players have to stop because of the costs.
Right now the first year you sign up for hockey as an adult or child you looking at spending %600-$1000 as a skater or $800-1500 as a goalie. Thats more then it costs to buy clothing for six months, feed a family of four for two months. Alot of college kids can't afford hockey unless they've made it onto university/college teams or into a Major Junior hockey league. Parents are not paying and there is no way 18 year olds can afford college and hockey on a part-time salary.
The down side is plenty companies will only help promising players. So the parents had to be able to afford the game in the first place.
It's kind of lame.