Stories from Tri-City News headlines of decades past is a recurring feature as the publication marks its 40th anniversary in 2024.
A new deal with a private company to build a multi-pad ice arena in Coquitlam’s Mayfair industrial park was reportedly near in April 1993.
But it was too late for the Coquitlam Warriors junior "B" hockey team, which was looking for a new home after an agreement for ice time with the city’s minor association expired.
“The one-per-cent hope is Coquitlam council,” team co-owner Bob Simpson told the Tri-City News.
But Coquitlam Mayor Lou Sekora and other councillors weren’t yet ready to announce more ice surfaces for the city.
“There’s nothing carved out,” Sekora said of the proposed public-private partnership for a new ice facility off United Boulevard.
Don Cunnings, Coquitlam’s parks and recreation director, said even if the announcement of a new arena was imminent, it would still take 15 months to two years to get built.
That wasn’t good news for Simpson, who’d moved the Warriors to Coquitlam from White Rock after he acquired the team in 1989.
He suggested the city could help save the Warriors by purchasing ice time for its minor hockey association at arenas in nearby communities like Burnaby or Pitt Meadows.
Otherwise, he said, he’d have to put the team on hold or move it elsewhere.
Simpson’s partner, Ray Scoffins, said neither option was ideal.
“In the history of junior 'B,' there’s never been a team to take a leave of absence and come back and put a team on the ice.”
The Tri-City News has covered civic affairs, local crime, festivals, events, personalities, sports and arts in Coquitlam, Port Coquitlam and Port Moody since 1983. Bound back issues of the paper are available at the Coquitlam Archives, while digital versions of several past years can be found at issuu.com.
