West Kelowna Warriors, city agree on a five-year lease extension

Warriors ink 5-year lease

Photo: Contributed

The West Kelowna Warriors aren't going anywhere.

The BC Hockey League club and the City of West Kelowna have come to terms on a five-year lease agreement that further cements its commitment to the community.

Facilities and recreation manager Erin Goodwin says the lease, which takes effect Sept. 1 includes an extra commitment for ice time to accommodate several youth programs the team has undertaken.

Goodwin says the club accepted "less desirable ice times" such as early morning and evening times during the spring and summer months in order to make the agreement work.

Team president Chris Laurie says the establishment of the Junior Warriors youth program helped get the team through the pandemic, and was also a way to give back to the community.

He says through the pandemic when games were shut down for minor hockey, the Warriors were able to build and develop the program.

"We are seeing where there are some gaps and where we can step in to help local youth become stronger hockey players on the ice and off the ice," said Laurie.

The additional ice time also means more money for the city over the life of the lease.

Typically, Goodwin says the city received about $140,000 a year for ice rental from the Warriors.

This agreement will generate about $195,000 a year if the Warriors fully utilize the ice time available per the agreement.

The Warriors will also pay the city a base rate of $2,000 per month for lease space of their office, dressing room, storage and utilities, along with rights to alcohol, concession and advertising sales.

This gives the team the ability to operate the concession and alcohol sales within the arena and advertising rights within Royal LePage Place and Jim Lind Arena.

The agreement provides the Warriors with approximately 568 hours of ice time for the junior club and nearly 1,150 hours for the youth development program.