The defending Canadian Junior A hockey champions may soon be on their way out of West Kelowna and the Penticton Vees losing their closest — distance-wise — rival.
Mark Cheyne, the owner of the West Kelowna Warriors, is in the midst of negotiating a move of the franchise to North Delta’s Sungod Arena.
“We’re in negotiations, no doubt, but that’s where we sit until I get something on paper,” Cheyne told the Surrey Now.
“I’ll be honest and up front with you, the sooner the better, if it was going to happen for me, but it’s up in the air right now,” Cheyne added. “I’ll know more in the next two weeks probably.”
The relocation bid and potential move of the Warriors is being discussed this week at the league’s board of governors meetings.
Vees coach-GM Fred Harbinson said he feels bad for the Warriors and their fans, having to hear talk of moving the team mid-season, after winning the championship last year.
“No matter how good the hockey team is, this is a business. In the snap of a finger it could be gone,” said Harbinson. “It’s not just about the hockey. The hockey is just a portion of it. You need to work day and night on the business.
“I thought West Kelowna did. I think they had a great owner, they had a great coaching staff over the years. They’ve won a national championship. For whatever reason, maybe because it's a suburb of Kelowna itself, they just couldn’t draw enough people.”
Since the arrival of the BCHL club 10 years ago in West Kelowna, the Warriors have been a money-losing proposition for team ownership.
Even after winning a league and RBC Cup championship last season, the Warriors’ owner said little has changed for the club, both in terms of interest and drawing fans to Royal LePage Place.
“It’s about a chance to break even there (in North Delta) because we just can’t break even here, you know,” Cheyne said. “It’s just a better move financially. With the (WHL) Rockets here and everything, it’s just a case of (people) don’t support it here as well as they need to, that’s for sure, even with a national championship, a really good team last year.
“I was told all along, for 10 years, that once we get over that hump, win the division, win something, things will change here drastically, but that’s just not the case.”
Harbinson said if the Warriors move, the Vees will miss having a great rival just 40 minutes down the road.
“A lot of times when we play each other, their fans come, our fans go there. It’s an inexpensive road trip,” said Harbinson, adding that if this plays out, the league will be losing a great owner in Mark Cheyne.
Great ownership is key to the success of a team, Harbinson said, and the Vees have “probably have the best owner in junior hockey,” in Graham Fraser.
“With the way he allows this program to be run, what he puts into it, that’s the key,” said Harbinson.
BCHL commissioner John Grisdale confirmed to the Surrey Now that “there’s interest for a team to play in North Delta, either a relocation or an expansion team,” starting in the fall of 2017.
Grisdale didn’t guarantee a decision would be made this week but said “The league will look where it’s at, where its existing franchises are, to see what’s best for the league. We have 17 franchises, and we have to consider what’s best for them.”
The Warriors relocated to West Kelowna from Langley for the start of the 2006-07 BCHL season. Cheyne was a co-owner for two seasons, before taking on sole ownership of the BCHL club in the fall of 2009.
— with files from the Surrey Now