Fans of financially troubled Warriors to show support

Amid the often warring political landscape of West Kelowna, the hockey rink is something of a sanctuary.

Neighbourhood feuds in the city of 32,000 have been based on who pays for the Johnson-Bentley pool, whether to join Kelowna or set up a new municipality, and the need for a city hall.

“There’s been an us-and-them mentality to a lot of issues over the years. But the dividing line for a lot of those arguments, it sort of runs right through the middle of the (Royal LePage Place) arena,” Larry McLean, a 45-year resident of the Westside, said on Wednesday.

“The one thing everybody over here can really agree on is we love our hockey,” he said. “It’s probably the one thing that has really helped to unify this community.”

That devotion to hockey generally, and the West Kelowna Warriors in particular, is what’s driving plans for a rally outside the arena at 5:30 p.m. next Tuesday.

Team owner Mark Cheyne says he’s lost hundreds of thousands of dollars on the Warriors, and he plans to either sell or shut down the B.C. Hockey League franchise.

“We hope hundreds of people will show up at the rally and show just how important the Warriors are to West Kelowna,” says McLean, who’s had season’s tickets since the team’s first game in 2006.

The team’s last regular-season home game was Tuesday, a loss to the Penticton Vees.

But the Warriors have still made the playoffs. Their first two homes games are next Friday and Saturday.

Attendance has spiked since stories began circulating in January about the Warriors’ possible relocation or shutdown. Before, crowds averaged about 800, but attendance has jumped to about 1,200.

Meanwhile, West Kelowna resident Peter Siemers is leading an effort to round up local investors to take over the team from Cheyne.

Rev. Don Richmond, the team’s chaplain, will address West Kelowna city council on the importance of the club to West Kelowna as the rally is taking place.

“I know that city council cannot, nor should it, subsidize any individual business,” Richmond said. “I’m just hoping to show council the Warriors offer the community an important gathering place, and the hole that will be left if they move or fold would be massive.”

Mayor Doug Findlater tried unsuccessfully recently to convince council to put West Kelowna Warriors stickers on city vehicles. Findlater said of the Tuesday rally: “If I were not in council, I would be outside (at the rally), as I wish the Warriors well.”