Image Credit: SUBMITTED/Kelowna Rockets/Marissa Baecker

While it's mired in controversy now, when Kelowna’s Prospera Place opened in 1999, it was the flagship for the Western Hockey League.

“We were all very excited about a new facility,” Ron Robison, president of the Western Hockey League since 2000, told iNFOnews.ca. “At the time, it was arguably one of the top junior facilities in the Western Hockey League.

“It was host to the (national championship) Memorial Cup in 2004. The community did a wonderful job and, of course, the facility was on full display. Everything was fine with respect to the initial years of the building. But we have concerns with the state of the building at the present time.”

How times have changed. Kelowna's arena has been badly neglected and is in need of major upgrades while the City of Kelowna, Kelowna Rockets and GSL Holdings, which built and operated the facility sort out the blame. Of the 22 teams in the Western Hockey League, Prospera Place is now one of only two that is not up to the standard needed to not only bid on the 2026 Memorial Cup but to actually run a team franchise.

That other arena is in Prince Albert, Sask.

It was built in 1971 and that city is in the midst of a feasibility study to replace it. Because of that, the league has relaxed some of its standards to allow it to continue regular league play.

That is not the case with Kelowna. If nothing is done to upgrade Prospera Place, the league could force the Rockets to move out.

“The requirement of all our member clubs is to ensure they all have a facility that meets the standards, at all times, for the Western Hockey League,” Robison said.

He’s not concerned about that happening in the short term because the City of Kelowna has made it clear that it plans to upgrade the facility in order to qualify to bid for the 2026 Memorial Cup.

“Most of the challenges, right now, centre around the fan experience and the lack of acceptable video board for presentation purposes and other amenities which is part of the challenge with the building design,” Robison said. “The dressing rooms are limited. The media press box areas are limited as well.”

Even the upgrades proposed by arena operator Graham Lee, president and CEO of GSL Holdings, which built the facility in partnership with the city, would qualify Kelowna to make the bid.

“There would have to be very strong evidence that the improvements are being made and a commitment, either on behalf of the building operator or the city, in order for the bid to proceed,” Robinson said.

The deadline to show an expression of interest to host the tournament has yet to be set but it’s likely to be in May or June, he said.

That means the clock is ticking on the dispute between Lee and the city.

The city gave Lee a Jan. 15 deadline to bring forward plans to upgrade Prospera Place.

After he missed that deadline, Mayor Tom Dyas announced that the city is looking for a new operator. Dyas made it clear to iNFOnews.ca that Lee’s late proposal doesn’t count for much.

READ MORE: New proposal for Prospera Place upgrades blown off by Kelowna’s mayor

Prospera Place is certainly not the oldest of the 22 rinks in the league. There are 13 that are older, with Prince Albert being the oldest.

Even Sandman Place in Kamloops is seven years older than Prospera.

“Kamloops was awarded the Memorial Cup in 2023 due to the fact they met all the requirements that the Canadian Hockey League and the Western Hockey League had,” Robinson said. “That was, in large part, due to the investment the City of Kamloops made in their facility. They have made continual improvements to their facility in order to meet the requirements for any major event. They have been very cooperative, very responsive in a timely fashion.”

The City of Kamloops owns its arena, as do most teams in the league, although Kelowna is not the only city with a public private partnership. Lee has a similar arrangement with the City of Victoria.

Lee says it’s up to the city to make capital improvements.

READ MORE: Prospera Place operator points the finger over loss of Rockets Memorial Cup bid

“I think it’s been a failure on behalf of the facility to meet the necessary standards,” Robison said. “The city has, in recent years, certainly responded to make certain improvements to the facility but, again, (that still) falls short of what we require to host a major event like the Memorial Cup.”

It's unclear to him whether the failure is due solely to Lee’s reluctance to spend money on a facility where his 30-year lease runs out in five years or whether it’s the city that has fallen short.

“We’re not really privy to that,” Robison said. “It’s the responsibility, as we understand it, of the building facility operator currently.

“It’s been a challenge clarifying who is responsible for these improvements. The bottom line is the improvements did not get done and, consequently, the bid could not move forward for the 2023 event.”

Even if the work is done, there is no guarantee Kelowna will win the right to host the Memorial Cup in 2026.

While the number of teams planning to bid is not yet known, there is considerable interest, including the fact that the opportunity is now open to the six American teams in the league.

While the quality of the facility is a key issue, so are other factors like the commitment from the community and the quality of the franchise behind the bid.

And, of course, there’s how the team itself is performing.

“The team has to demonstrate that it's championship calibre in order to host as well,” Robison said.

The Memorial Cup includes the champions of Western, Ontario and Quebec leagues as well as the host team.

Heading into the 2004 Memorial Cup, Kelowna finished first in BC in the previous two years. They won the cup that year.

In 2020, they were fourth in BC. Last year they were second in BC. This year they are currently the third-best BC-based team and sixth in the western division.

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