UBC facility has hub city advantages
Vancouver is well positioned to obtain hub city status — and primed to deliver
If Vancouver is named one of the National Hockey League’s hub cities, as is expected to be made official sometime this week, there are plenty of reasons why.
Our COVID -19 case count, highlighted by Premier John Horgan and others, which has been declining for quite some time now tops the list, of course. As of Monday afternoon, there are 182 active cases in the whole province — fewer than the city of Edmonton — with just six people now in critical care.
And of course, the city of Vancouver is home to the kind of hotels and restaurants that would appeal to players who are going to be stuck in a quarantine bubble for at least six weeks. Teams would likely be in Vancouver from the end of July until at least the middle of September.
From a logistics standpoint, the city’s experience hosting and broadcasting large sporting events is well known.
It also helps that the Lower Mainland has a multitude of facilities where the dozen NHL teams could practise.
At the top of that list is the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre at UBC, a place very familiar to the Vancouver Canucks, as they have practised there often over past decade and used the facility last summer to host their annual prospects development camp.
The facility has a solid history of hosting large hockey events, says Jamie Rennie, senior manager of facility and operations.
“We could have upwards of 16 teams, with each team keeping a team room,” he wrote in an email, listing hypothetical tournaments that could use the centre.
“Aside from the 2010 Olympics and Paralympics, we have hosted the Canucks Autism Network proam hockey tournament, Hockey Helps tournament and a variety of minor hockey tournaments for all ages.”
The main Thunderbird Arena boasts an NHL-sized rink. Also in the building is the original Father David Bauer rink, where the Canucks have skated more than once, plus the smaller Protrans Arena.
There are 13 regular team rooms, plus a pair of larger team rooms used by the men’s and women’s varsity hockey teams and a large team room leased by the St. George’s School hockey program.
We could have upwards of 16 teams with each team keeping a team room.
There are also a half-dozen rooms designed for game officials, three rooms for coaches and trainers and a dedicated first aid room.
There is also a modern weight facility and the UBC hospital complex is literally a minute away.
Neither Rennie nor other UBC officials would comment on what, if any, discussions they have had to date with the NHL about hosting NHL teams should Vancouver be named a hub city.
The Canucks used the Scotia Barn, formerly known as Burnaby 8 Rinks, as their practice rink during the 2019-20 season when Rogers Arena wasn’t available, but for the NHL to use it, they would need dedicated access in order to keep their bubble tight.
When the Adult Safe Hockey League announced last week they were launching league play for the summer — 4 on 4, just eight skaters total per team, no penalties, only penalty shots, no showers, no food or beers post-game — that took the Scotia Barn out of public consideration.