Despite the recent Vancouver Olympic Committee (VANOC) announcement that a $20 million Paralympic arena will be built in Whistler instead of Squamish, the Chilliwack Chiefs Junior 'A' hockey team hasn't yet discounted Squamish as their potential new home, according to the team's co-owner, Moray Keith.
"We're not giving up the ghost at all with that," said Keith. "Everyone we talk to about the idea of hockey in Squamish, it's been a very, very positive response, so it's far from a dead issue."
Mayor Ian Sutherland said he believed the chances of drawing the Chiefs are "remote" because of the VANOC decision, but added that talks are underway to form partnerships that may still bring Junior 'A' hockey to the district.
"Before we can get a Junior 'A' team we have to have a new arena. They go hand in hand," said Sutherland. "What we have to do is look at partnerships we can develop that will help us to get a second arena, or a second sheet of ice at least and have something that would be suitable for a Junior 'A' hockey team."
Although Sutherland said he believed it unlikely the Chiefs will come to Squamish, given that the team needs an arena that seats more than 3,000 by September 2006, Keith said the franchise is willing to wait, if necessary, for the right home.
"What we're looking for is a long term place that we can bring our Chiefs to," said Keith. "Even if that meant for the first two or three months at the start of the season we wouldn't have enough seating capacity or even if on the long term it meant we'd have to wait and couldn't get it until the following year."
The Chiefs currently draw the largest Junior 'A' crowds in the country, with more than 3,000 spectators per game, according to Keith. And they have plans to recapture that popularity if they choose Squamish.
"We're going to be looking for ways that we can bring that kind of support and draw from the community - whether it's Whistler or North Vancouver - into the Squamish area," he said. "We think there's some real opportunity with that."In the meantime, team owners and the district are considering introducing the Chiefs to Squamish early in the New Year during a charitable face off with local emergency services personnel. [email protected]
