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More than 16 years after they first started talking about building a practice rink, it appears the Vancouver Canucks may potentially be about to cross the finish line.
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As first reported by Canucks Army’s Irfaan Gaffar, Postmedia News has confirmed the Canucks and the city of Vancouver are deep into talks about securing a training facility in and around the current Britannia Rink in east Vancouver, which is about a 10-minute drive from Rogers Arena.
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The city-owned facility had its ice surface overhauled in the past two years, which is good, but the surrounding facility, which includes a community centre, a pool, community services offices, plus school board facilities and more, are very dated and long in need of renovation or even replacement.
Daily Hive reported in January that planning had resumed on redeveloping the complex, but was very early in the process and that much of the construction work was still years away. (City council had approved a community plan in 2018, but a variety of factors had interceded in the years since to stall any progress.)
A source close to the situation confirmed there’d been progress toward an agreement between ownership and the city, but it’s clear that until papers are signed everyone is holding their breath.
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“There have been enough discussions for the potential of this to happen,” the source said. “There’s been a lot of work done on it and it seems like it makes sense for both sides.”
Vancouver Canucks senior managers — president of hockey operations Jim Rutherford, general manager Patrik Allvin, president of business operations Michael Doyle and Dax Aquilini, son of team co-owner Roberto Aquilini — were spotted at Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre in south Burnaby taking an apparent tour of the facility on Wednesday, June 4, 2025 Photo by (X.com/@ryan_bains)
The ice may be ready, but presumably the Canucks would need to upgrade the off-ice spaces before it would be ready to host the NHL team for regular practices. The Aquilinis have long experience in construction and are clearly keen to win a lucrative contract from the city for a project like this.
As it stands, the Canucks are the only NHL team without a permanent practice facility; the Calgary Flames also don’t have permanent facility, but are building one as part of the partnership they struck with local government to build a new main arena.
The Canucks’ lack of a facility has become a bit of quiet narrative around the league, since it sets them apart from what everyone else does. When the arena is booked out for a concert or another event, the Canucks usually have to give up all of their team spaces for the duration; having a permanent facility away from Rogers would make it easy for players to seek treatment and use team fitness facilities whenever they like.
As it stands, when the team does have to practice on a day where the don’t have access to Rogers Arena, they go to the University of B.C., which they set up as best they can but it’s still a temporary arrangement.
When a deal between the city and the team might be struck remains unclear and how quickly work to upgrade Britannia might start if and when such a deal was struck is also unclear.
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