(photo credit to the City of Prince George)

By Jeromy Corrigan

Arena Closure

Reaction pours in following the announcement of arena closures in the City

Jul 15, 2020 | 5:48 PM

Many user groups in the City have been planning for the 2020-2021 season, but with the news from the City yesterday, now groups are looking for answers.

The doors won’t be opening to arenas on August 4th like what was tentatively planned by the City of Prince George and reaction of the news has begun to pour in from a number of different groups.

“We were shocked that we were not consulted,” stated President of Prince George Minor Hockey Association Glynis Vennberg.

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“The statement is a little bit false in that we were not consulted. We feel we spent the last three months coming up with a detailed plan to get kids back on the ice as safely as possible.”

Planning for the upcoming season for the on-ice groups had been in the works, but now with arenas closed indefinitely, it has made the task of planning for the 20/21 year extremely difficult.

“First of all, with Covid it is already difficult to plan,” explained Director of Skating for the Prince George Figure Skating Club Jennifer Auston.

“Now with not even knowing when the rinks are going to be open, we have no idea what could be in place. We are just hanging out with no idea. We feel like our hands are tied.”

“We need to push it back until September” added General Manager of Cariboo Hockey Trevor Sprague.

“School starts September 8th and we just need to start status quo and wait to see what the city plans out in the coming weeks.”

For Prince George Minor Hockey, they released a detailed statement last night.

In the lengthy document, PGMHA is worried about the possibility of seeing players leave the North with this news.

“It’s happening. It is happening everywhere,” shared Director of Hockey Operations for PGMHA.

“It’s not just here. In Prince George we hockey players, we have figure skaters, we have athletes of all types leaving our area to go get that service somewhere else. Those dollars are leaving our community. These facilities should be open.”

“I’ve already had emails from kids transferring out,” explained Vennberg.

“Kids will leave town and they will go to academy’s where they can pay for private ice and get that 1 on 1 training.”

Both groups are hoping to work with the city moving forward on making a plan to get arenas open sooner rather than later, but until then both have messages to the athletes which this news effects.

“Just to stay positive and keep active and busy, because there will come a date that we are able to get back on the ice and you want to be ready,” shared Auston.

“I hope the public can be patient and we are trying to get as much information out there as possible. We just want to see kids back on the ice,” stated Vennberg.