Kamloops Minor Hockey urging City to find alternative shelter space to free up ice at Memorial Arena

KMH Operations Coordinator Riley Woodland says they’d expected the rink to be reopened this season.

“This year we were told it was scheduled to open, which we find out in the summertime after we’ve opened registration, started our registration, accepting kids and ramping up for a whole hockey season.”

There are about 1,100 youth registered with Kamloops Minor Hockey this season, and Woodland says the organization had been hoping to bounce back after the first year of COVID-19 dealt a blow to player development.

The other operational rinks in Kamloops include Valleyview Arena, McArthur Island Sports and Events Centre, Brocklehurst Arena, and the Sandman Centre. Without the Memorial Arena ice sheet, Woodland says they’re struggling to accommodate the number of players registered.

“Those are the kids that are the future, and we can’t develop those kids. Those are the future Logan Stankovens, Mark Recchi, Joe Hicketts, those are those kids, and we’re taking a hit on them right now. So five, six years from now, where are we going to be?”

The organization says city staff have been working with them to schedule other ice sheets and times, but the need for more ice remains.

“52 hours a week of ice time is gone which shortens practices, shortens games, possibly raises team fees for next year, association fees,” notes KMH Board Chair Nathan Bosa. “We’re looking to travel to Shulus Arena in the lower Nicola, Logan Lake, so it’s tough, it’s really hard on us for now.”

The loss of the ice sheet also means fewer teams can play in tournaments, which Bosa says will lead to lost revenue for Kamloops Minor Hockey, and fewer hotel bookings in the city.

“The old Colombo hall is available, Stuart Wood is open right? So that’s a big building that could house a lot of people,” suggests Bosa. “It would be a lot warmer than a hockey rink arena for the homeless people, who do need a safe place there’s no question about that.”

The City meantime, has asked BC Housing to look for alternative locations, but Mayor Ken Christian says facilities need to meet certain standards to have people staying in them.

“The difficulty that you have is if you move around the city and use lots of small facilities, the overhead is very very high to operate them,” he explains. “You need security, you need wraparound services, you need registration, so these are things that come at a cost, and it’s how much money that they have.”

Christian says he receives weekly reports which show Memorial Arena is fully utilized with 50 people per night, and with a growing homeless population he expects the strain to continue. On the flip side, the Mayor is also aware of how badly user groups want the ice back.

“I wish they could have it back too. But right now there doesn’t seem to be an alternative and council have agreed to continue with the lease arrangements with BC Housing in the short term.”

The City is hoping as new shelter facilities come online, they can move people into them. But for now, Christian says Memorial Arena will continue to be used as a shelter while they wait for updates from BC Housing.

“It’s a Hobson’s choice, there are no good answers.”

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Kamloops Minor Hockey urging City to find alternative shelter space to free up ice at Memorial Arena

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