It appears the Surrey Eagles will soon have a new rival close to home, after owners of the BC Hockey League's West Kelowna Warriors announced this week they're selling the team and eyeing North Delta as its new home.
Mark Cheyne, owner of the Warriors – the defending BCHL champions – confirmed to Black Press this week that he is in the midst of negotiating a move of his 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,” he said. "I'll know more in the next two weeks probably."
The relocation bid was to be discussed at the league's board of governors' meetings, which began Tuesday.
On Wednesday, Delta's director of parks, recreation and culture, Ken Kuntz, told the Kelowna Daily Courier that it was his understanding that approval of the sale and relocation would be approved at the league meetings, and that representatives of the new owner had already signed a memorandum of agreement with the the Corporation of Delta for the use of Sungod Arena.
BCHL commissioner John Grisdale confirmed "there's interest for a team to play in North Delta, either a relocation or an expansion team," starting in the fall of 2017, but wouldn't say whether a decision would be made this week.
"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."
A move to North Delta would alter the league's Mainland Division, of which the Eagles are a part, along with other nearby teams in Coquitlam and Langley. The addition of a new team could also free up the division's two other teams – the Wenatchee Wild and Prince George Spruce Kings – to move into divisions that make more geographical sense.
On the geographical front, the Eagles would be the closest rivals to a potential North Delta squad, but Surrey president Chuck Westgard told Black Press Tuesday that he doesn't believe there are any official territorial rights that would keep a BCHL franchise from moving near another.
"We're just going to wait and see what happens, and all that kind of stuff will get worked out," he said.
Though he hadn't yet heard details of a potential Delta move – the subject had not yet come up at league meetings when he was contacted by Black Press Tuesday afternoon – Westgard said he wasn't adverse to the addition of Lower Mainland teams.
"It works both ways – maybe (it adds competition for fans), but for things like travel costs, it helps," he said.
The Sungod Arena has been the home of two Junior A teams in the past.
The Delta Suns operated in the 1978-79 season in what was then the B.C. Junior Hockey League (BCJHL), but folded after one season. The Suns went 6-56-0 (win-loss-tie).
The Abbotsford Flyers of the BCJHL relocated to North Delta for the 1985-86 season to play as the Delta Flyers. But despite posting a winning record in each of three seasons at the Sungod Arena, the team didn’t attract enough fan support and became the Powell River Paper Kings in the fall of 1988. The team is now known as the Powell River Kings, a rival of the Surrey Eagles in the BCHL.