Warriors fans not giving up yet
Hopes persist that money-losing team can be kept in West Kelowna under local ownership
The West Kelowna Warriors may not be moving. At least not to North Delta, that is.
On Tuesday, in an online report, Warriors owner Mark Cheyne said that a pending deal to relocate the franchise to North Delta had perished. Local fans of the B.C. Hockey League team celebrated the news, but there’s still a chance the Warriors could pull up stakes and relocate.
“We know it’s not going to North Delta, but there are other players in the field,” said Larry McLean, a season-ticket holder and volunteer with the Warriors who organized a rally to save the team Tuesday evening at Royal LePage Place. The event attracted scores of participants, with most of them wearing West Kelowna jerseys.
“Quesnel has a rink that’s ready to go,” McLean continued. “It could go there. We need corporate sponsorship by Friday. Mark’s going to make a decision, I believe, by 4 o’clock on Friday afternoon. We will know whether we have our team here in West Kelowna or not.”
McLean added that “Cranbrook is in the mix and Quesnel is in the mix,” and “from what I understand, the league has approved a sale there if it so goes that way. But if we get that sponsorship, we get some people to step up on board here in West Kelowna and say ‘We don’t want to lose our team,’ we can save it.”
Last month, Cheyne told West Kelowna city officials that the team was up for sale after losing more than $300,000 last season — this, despite the team winning the national championship. He said losses in previous seasons had been even higher.
Enter a potential buyer from Vancouver, businessman Kejun Wang, who wanted to relocate the franchise to North Delta. An agreement had been signed, but the move required consent from the B.C. Hockey League.
“The team’s losses have been significant, very significant,” BCHL commissioner John Grisdale told The Daily Courier last month.
As a sidebar, North Delta may wind up getting a team even if the Warriors deal is dead, as the BCHL says that Wang has an expansion application before the league.
Tuesday’s news, though, boils down to two possibilities: A local ownership group coming forward to purchase the team or the franchise relocating.
In Quesnel, a new arena is being built, one that will seat 1,400 fans with a walk-around concourse that could hold another 300-400 fans. The approximate $20.6-million rink will open in September.
For followers of junior A hockey, franchise history can be somewhat confusing. Follow the bouncing ball: In 2006, the BCHL’s Langley Hornets relocated to West Kelowna to become the Warriors. That same year, the WHL expanded into Chilliwack, which forced the relocation of the BCHL’s Chilliwack Chiefs. The Chiefs moved west down Highway 1 to become the Langley Chiefs, who were renamed the Langley Rivermen in 2011. Also in 2011, the Quesnel Millionaires relocated to Chilliwack to become the Chiefs.
And now the Warriors could relocate to Quesnel.
However, Tuesday offered a glimmer of hope.
“Absolutely,” said McLean. “It’s been a roller-coaster. A month ago, the team was gone. Today, there’s still that hope. If sponsorship steps up, we’ll save our team. We’ll keep it here.”
Going back further in time, to the mid1990s, the BCHL and the now-defunct Rocky Mountain Junior Hockey League were battling for players and provincial junior A glory — a fight the BCHL would win. In 1995, the Trail Smoke Eaters left the RMJHL for the BCHL. One year later, the Millionaires and Prince George Spruce Kings also left the RMJHL for the BCHL, while the Grande Prairie Storm joined the AJHL. In 1999, the RMJHL folded.
Now, time will tell whether the Warriors stay or go.
“We’ll know on Friday whether the team stays or not,” said McLean. “Personally, in my heart, I still think that we’re going to have Warrior hockey here next year. I’m really, really hoping. But that all depends on corporate sponsorship, and if we don’t get that, we won’t have a team. It’s as simple as that.”