For a city to secure a B.C. Hockey League franchise, it must accomplish several key steps. A city/municipality must possess a modern arena with more than 1,500 seats.
A city must also have a sizable population. Ideally, the population should be above 10,000 people. Finally, any team must have a deep-pocketed owner or ownership group footing the bill.
This article will elaborate on how cities or communities can enter the BCHL. Before that, I will note exceptions to the three rules I mentioned above.
Trail and Prince George
Of all the BCHL cities, the Smoke Eaters and Spruce Kings are the exceptions to my set of rules. .
As of the 2021 Canadian census, Trail’s population is noted at 7,920, which is well under the 10,000 threshold. Despite this, the Smoke Eaters often fill Cominco Arena.
If you visit the Smoke Eaters’ website, the header features 15 Smoke Eaters players who achieved an NCAA college commitment. Everyone involved has built a successful program in Trail.
As for Prince George, the Kopar Memorial Arena is far from a modern facility. In fact, it’s been the Spruce Kings’ home since 1972. Despite this, the fans pack the old arena for games, and PG is successful on the ice as well.
A future downtown arena plan for Prince George is in the concept stages, which involves demolishing Kopar. In its place, the city is looking to build a new 4,500-seat arena. In December 2024, Spruce Kings’ General Manager Mike Hawes criticized the plan. He feels there’s no suitable short-term replacement in Prince George for the Spruce Kings to play in.
We’ll see how the situation in Prince George develops.
A modern facility
There are two types of arenas that are home to BCHL teams. They are either brand new or newly renovated. I’ll bring up two examples.
The first example is the Thompson Family Arena at Heavy Metal Place. The arena, which opened in May 2025, is the new home of the Spruce Grove Saints. It has a capacity of 1,665 seats.
Thompson Family Arena is the newest arena in the league, while previously, Eagle Builders Centre in Blackfalds was the newest building to house a BCHL team.
The second example is the George Preston Recreation Centre in Langley. The arena opened in 1973, but since 2016, the Township of Langley has renovated the building several times.
The arena features several modern amenities not found in some other BCHL rinks. It has a video screen on one end and has had new seating and siding installed.
Population base
As noted above, BCHL teams play in cities of various sizes, with Trail being the smallest market in the league. The largest centre in the BCHL is Surrey, with a 2021 Canadian census population of 568,322.
The unofficial minimum population for a BCHL city seems to be between 10,000 and 20,000. Two cities that fall in this range are Powell River and Port Alberni. Other teams play in larger cities, while some markets are part of larger population centres — Coquitlam, Surrey, Victoria, and West Kelowna, to name a few.
There are larger cities without a modern BCHL-sized facility, but in the next several years, I suspect that will change.
Stable franchise ownership
BCHL organizations are expensive to run. Teams regularly spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on travel, equipment, food, and accommodations. There are also player development costs, educational advisors, scouts, plus salaries for coaches and management, and more.
These are just some of the costs involved with running a junior hockey franchise. Some teams couldn’t afford the costs associated with being in the BCHL. In 2024, the Merritt Centennials’ BCHL franchise folded, and an expansion franchise was awarded for the then-Junior B Kootenay International Junior Hockey League.
Then there was the decision in November 2024 by the NCAA to allow Canadian Hockey League players to play in the U.S collge ranks starting this season. The change has led to an increase in roster turnover in the BCHL. Over the last two seasons, we’ve seen many players leave their BCHL teams mid-season to join Major Junior teams.
Needless to say, if someone wishes to own a BCHL franchise, they would need deep pockets. Some of the ownership types in the league include ownership groups, community ownership structures, or independent singular owners.
A ready-made future location?
As noted above, there are historically strong junior hockey supporting communities in British Columbia that don’t have a BCHL team. Campbell River is one such city, and it being without a BCHL franchise may soon change.
In Campbell River, the city is redeveloping the Strathcona Gardens Recreation Complex, including an upgraded arena. The arena will seat 2,000 spectators, and the city is borrowing $57.1 million to finance the redevelopment.
At one time, Campbell River was a rumoured landing spot for the Victoria Grizzlies. Campbell River’s population from the 2021 census was 35,138. The population exceeds the unofficial minimum, and with the redevelopment of the arena, capacity will exceed the BCHL’s minimum of 1,500 seats. Seemingly, all that’s missing is an owner.
Graham Fraser still owns the BCHL franchise that was the Penticton Vees, and it needs a place to play. In my opinion, Campbell River makes sense for the league, and it should be only a matter of time before the BCHL puts a team there.
Photo credit: Garrett James Photography
