The Vancouver Canucks can’t seem to build a practice facility, but maybe they have more options than they realize.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re talking about practice (facilities).\u00a0<\/p>\n
The Vancouver Canucks\u2019 lack of a practice facility has become a significant story this summer after departing head coach Rick Tocchet gushed over the Philadelphia Flyers\u2019 practice facility and admitted it was a factor in his decision to leave the Canucks<\/a>. \u00a0<\/p>\n When Jim Rutherford first joined the Canucks as president of hockey operations in 2021, he said building a practice facility was a priority, but four years later, the Canucks don\u2019t seem any closer to accomplishing that goal.\u00a0<\/p>\n That\u2019s not too surprising. The previous two management groups also tried to get the Canucks a dedicated practice facility, but couldn\u2019t get it done. As soon as the Calgary Flames finish their new arena, the Canucks will be the only team in the NHL without a dedicated practice facility.<\/p>\n It does seem noteworthy that the Aquilinis have not built a single new sheet of ice in the city of Vancouver since buying the Canucks. In theory, an ownership group whose primary portfolio is property development shouldn\u2019t have so much trouble developing property.\u00a0<\/p>\n There\u2019s an element of \u201cbe careful what you wish for,\u201d however.\u00a0<\/p>\n Tom Gaglardi, who was supposed to partner with the Aquilinis in the early 2000s to buy the Canucks, went on to purchase the Dallas Stars instead. The Stars have partnered with municipalities in the area to build multiple taxpayer-funded rinks, while the team has purchased several others, establishing a near monopoly on ice time in northern Texas.<\/p>\n The Stars came under fire for this monopoly in an article from USA Today last week<\/a>, which alleged that the team has jacked up prices, reduced the quality of services, and threatened anyone who spoke out against these actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Of course, developing a monopoly on ice time in Vancouver would be a tougher task with so many stakeholders already involved. Besides, land is awfully difficult to come by in Vancouver compared to the vast tracts available in Texas.\u00a0<\/p>\n Still, the Canucks have lots of options available to them. Let\u2019s take a look at a few.<\/p>\n 1 | Share the PNE Agrodome with the PWHL<\/p>\n The Canucks will be sharing Vancouver with another professional hockey team next season, as the Professional Women\u2019s Hockey League (PWHL) is coming to town. The team will be playing out of the Pacific Coliseum and will use the PNE Agrodome as their practice facility, which means, somewhat embarrassingly, PWHL Vancouver will have a practice facility<\/a> before the Canucks do. \u00a0<\/p>\n Or maybe not.<\/p>\n According to Postmedia\u2019s Patrick Johnston, the Canucks have enquired into also using the PNE Agrodome<\/a> as a practice facility.<\/p>\n With the city of Vancouver and the PWHL planning renovations to the building to modernize the facilities, the Canucks could piggyback on those plans like Jan Bulis on Niklas Hagman<\/a>, going halfsies with PWHL Vancouver. Of course, with the Canucks primarily using Rogers Arena for practices, they would only need the Agrodome for the few times per season that Rogers Arena is otherwise booked, so it wouldn\u2019t exactly be halfsies.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Agrodome is an old building that needs a lot of work and sharing a practice facility isn\u2019t ideal, but maybe it could be a stopgap solution while the Canucks look to build a proper, dedicated facility.<\/p>\n 2 | Build a new practice facility at the Plaza of Nations<\/p>\n For a city where land is at a premium, there sure is a whole lot of undeveloped land sitting right next to Rogers Arena. The majority of the Plaza of Nations site has stood empty for nearly two decades.<\/p>\n The original plans for the Plaza of Nations redevelopment included a practice facility for the Canucks<\/a> before the Aquilinis backed out of the deal<\/a> for reasons that remain unclear. The property has since been sold to a new owner<\/a>, but their development plans are currently unknown.<\/p>\n Are there any reasons why the Canucks couldn\u2019t partner with this new owner on a development that includes a new hockey rink? I mean, probably. I can think of lots of reasons why this wouldn\u2019t happen, but it just makes so much sense to have a practice facility right next door that could be shared between the Canucks and the community.<\/p>\n 3 | Like Aragorn, look to the East<\/p>\n If the Canucks can\u2019t get a practice facility right next door, perhaps one could show up like Gandalf in the east<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n The Canucks have reportedly looked at the Britannia Community Centre in East Van. The ice rink is currently closed through the end of 2025 for \u201cmaintenance and upgrades,\u201d but it would need a lot more work before it\u2019s ready to host an NHL team; if the Canucks could kick in some money to revitalize the facility, that would be a big boon to the community.<\/p>\n The Canucks have also looked further east in Burnaby, checking out the Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre, which opened just last year. I\u2019ve skated there myself, and it\u2019s a very nice facility. It\u2019s also a long way from Rogers Arena, and could be a prohibitively long drive for the players.\u00a0<\/p>\n They\u2019ve also looked into the Burnaby Lake Recreation Complex, which is closer to downtown Vancouver. It\u2019s currently adding a new NHL-sized arena as part of an extensive redevelopment<\/a>, though construction isn\u2019t expected to be complete until 2028.\u00a0<\/p>\n There’s still time, then for\u00a0the Canucks\u00a0to get in quite literally on the ground floor\u00a0to create a facility that could serve their needs, as well as those of the community.<\/p>\n 4 | Go back to school<\/p>\n The Canucks\u2019 current Plan B for practices when Rogers Arena is in use is to head to the University of British Columbia to practice at the Doug Mitchell Thunderbird Sports Centre. It\u2019s a significant drive from downtown Vancouver (and an even more significant one for certain members of the media), which makes it a little bit less than ideal.<\/p>\n The facility itself is pretty nice, though it lacks some of the locker room and workout space that the Canucks would like. There have been talks of the Canucks building their own dedicated space near or attached to the rink or even adding another sheet at UBC, but it doesn\u2019t look like those talks have gone anywhere in recent years.<\/p>\n The other option is Simon Fraser University. The SFU Red Leafs currently play at the Bill Copeland Sports Centre in Burnaby, which is further east than Burnaby Lake, but there was talk a couple of years ago that the Canucks were looking into building a practice facility at SFU<\/a>, which also happens to be the alma mater of Canucks owner Francesco Aquilini.<\/p>\n The SFU has long been interested in bringing NCAA Div. 1 hockey to the school, so a new rink would be mutually beneficial.<\/p>\n Of course, SFU has a similar distance problem as UBC, except it\u2019s even further from the airport.<\/p>\n 5 | Nordstrom<\/p>\n Let\u2019s get a little bit creative.<\/p>\n Nordstrom Canada closed all of their stores in 2023<\/a>, including their massive location in downtown Vancouver on the corner of Granville and Georgia. Since then, the space has remained empty.<\/p>\n There has been all kinds of speculation of what could go into the space, with the most recent plans to split it into four separate retail spaces. But what if it was instead converted into an ice rink right smack dab in the middle of downtown Vancouver?<\/p>\n Okay, okay, this idea is a little bit out there, but I feel like it could work. I think there\u2019s enough space there to host an ice sheet or two, locker rooms, weight rooms, and even some retail space for a sports-themed store or even a sportsbar.<\/p>\n And it\u2019s already got a Swedish name. It\u2019s perfect for the Canucks.<\/p>\n 6 | BC Place<\/p>\n Hey, where you going? Hear me out<\/a>.<\/p>\n MLS commissioner Don Garber made waves a couple of weeks ago<\/a> when he said that the Vancouver Whitecaps \u201cdon\u2019t have a viable stadium situation.\u201d<\/p>\n BC Place disputed this characterization<\/a> but the Whitecaps are intent on building a new stadium at the PNE fairgrounds.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s just say that the Whitecaps and the City of Vancouver build a new stadium; would it not make sense for the BC Lions to also play at this new stadium to get the most use out of it? And would that not leave BC Place largely unused apart from some concerts? And could the Canucks not build an ice surface there like they did for the Heritage Classic?<\/p>\n Okay, this is starting to sound a little bit unreasonable. But it is right next door.<\/p>\n 7 | Michael Bubl\u00e9\u2019s house<\/p>\n Michael Bubl\u00e9 is a massive fan of the Canucks. He also has an ice rink in his basement<\/a>.<\/p>\n I think you see where I\u2019m going with this.<\/p>\n 8 | An English Bay Barge<\/p>\n Not the\u00a0English Bay Barge<\/a>, an\u00a0English Bay Barge, just like Kevin McDonald on Corner Gas<\/a> wasn\u2019t the\u00a0tax man, he was a\u00a0tax man.<\/p>\n Look, land is expensive in Vancouver, so what if the Canucks take their practice facility offshore?\u00a0<\/p>\n Floating an entire NHL-size ice rink and gym might seem like an expensive proposition, and you have the potential for seasick Canucks if there\u2019s a storm, but you can\u2019t get much closer to Rogers Arena than False Creek<\/p>\n 9 | Steal the Saddledome<\/p>\n