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NHL-size ice has Vanoc knocking on arena's door
Britannia Community Centre's nearness to Athletes Village also handy for hockey practices

Jeff Lee, Vancouver Sun
Published: Thursday, December 13, 2007

VANCOUVER - Vancouver's Olympic organizers want to take over a third civic arena as a practice facility, but community activists oppose the idea.

Vanoc says it needs Britannia Community Centre's arena for hockey training because it has NHL-sized ice close to the Athletes Village that competing teams could use.

The arena was not previously considered as an option when Vancouver bid for the Games in 2002 because at that time the competitions were to be played on Olympic-sized ice, and Vancouver had offered its aging Trout Lake arena for training.

But changes that Vanoc initiated -- including abandoning two practice venues for figure skating and short-track speed-skating at Hastings Park in favour of new city-built arenas at Trout Lake and Killarney -- means it has to find another civic arena where some practices can take place.

Vanoc and the city are negotiating a deal that would see the Britannia arena closed to the public during the Olympics, according to Denis Hainault, Vanoc's director of ice sports and Dave Rudberg, the city's manager of Olympic operations. Talks began several months ago.

"We've entered into discussions with Britannia staff, and ultimately the Britannia board, around how it would be used, what the period would be and what improvements Vanoc would need to make to get it to an adequate standard," Rudberg said.

Any arrangement will still need to be put to the community board that governs the Britannia complex, which includes a library, swimming pool, community centre and arena. But city council would make the decision, since it has to sign a venue agreement with Vanoc, Rudberg said.

The community board that administers the 6.9-hectare site consists of local residents and representatives of the city, park board, school district and library board. Enzo Guerriero, the executive director, said it wants some minor upgrades to the arena, including new rink-side glass, better lighting, humidifiers, paint and an upstairs meeting room.

Hainault declined to say how much the upgrades would cost. Guerriero said no figures have yet been discussed, but both men described the improvements as relatively minor in cost. Hainault said any upgrades would be covered in Vanoc's existing venue construction budget.

"Vanoc has not given us any idea what their budget is," Guerriero said.

Several community activists oppose the temporary closure, saying it would disrupt many services.

On Sunday about two dozen people met at the community centre to discuss the proposal.

Tammie Tupechka, a former community board member, said the Britannia complex is right in the middle of an activist area opposed to the Vancouver Olympics. She said many people don't want their community services to be further disrupted.

"We feel the east side is bearing an unequal proportion of the brunt of putting on the Olympics," she said. "Why don't they try somewhere else, like in Kerrisdale or Kitsilano?"

But Hainault and Guerriero said the community centre, pool, library and other services would remain open, although Vanoc would require a security perimeter around the arena. Guerriero, a longtime Britannia director who briefly worked for Vanoc's sustainability department, said the board also wants access for children to watch the training sessions and test events for free.

He said Britannia has often acted as a training facility for visiting NHL teams and is known for producing very good ice, so it's not surprising to him that Vanoc would want it, especially since it is close to the Athletes Village in False Creek.

Tupechka, who says she and several others have started an anti-Olympics magazine called Torch, said protests were possible if the city and Vanoc reached a deal that was accepted by the community board. But they are worried that protests would be met with heavy RCMP response.

"Historically at every other Olympic Games all areas surrounding venues are designated as no-protest zones," she said. Park board estimates the new Trout Lake facility will cost just under $16 million and the Killarney arena $14 million.