Need An Igloo

Having spent some time around Wayne Fleming Arena alongside the second tenant in the building, I can tell you that the WHL's Winnipeg Ice run a fairly well-oiled machine. Head coach James Patrick runs a tight ship on the ice and on his bench, Manager of Broadcast and Communications Brian Munz has a solid handle on everything going on with the Ice alongside veteran broadcaster Kevin Olszewski, and General Manager Matt Cockell and owner Greg Fettes have built a nearly-unbeatable team. Everything seems to be going well for the WHL's most eastern franchise, but there's one detail that everyone keeps asking about: when are they building their rink?

That question was posed again today by Winnipeg Sun writer Paul Friesen who made the claim that the WHL team "could be on last legs in Winnipeg" thanks to its inability to even break ground on a WHL-suitable arena. As it stands, the Ice remain a permanent resident at the University of Manitoba facility for the foreseeable future, assuming that the team remains in Winnipeg.

There has been a deal in place when the team moved from Cranbrook to Winnipeg to build the facility alongside The Rink Training Facility in south Winnipeg, but a falling out between The Rink ownership and 50 Below Sports and Entertainment led to the agreement evaporating for the time being. Beyond that location, there has been speculation on various message boards and forums about where this new arena could be built, but nothing seems even close to being in the works when it comes to the Ice building their new permanent facility.

As Friesen wrote in his article today, "The league approved the team's move from Cranbrook on the condition Fettes and Cockell break ground on a new building within three years," and it's very apparent that the Ice haven't checked that off their to-do list. There had been a Winnipeg Free Press report written by Mike Sawatzky that the WHL had fined the Winnipeg Ice a considerable amount of money for failing to make good on that promise, and Friesen reported today that "a source confirms the WHL has already fined the franchise half a million dollars for failing to come through on that front". Both times this fine was mentioned, the WHL denied it had taken that action.

Where there's smoke, there's fire? We'll see, I guess.

As 50 Below regrouped following the split with The Rink, the COVID-19 pandemic gripped the planet which caused supply chain issues, postponement of games, and the cancellation of seasons. As Sawatzky wrote in his Winnipeg Free Press on November 26, 2021, "Fettes and Cockell have not commented publicly on how they plan to proceed, but WHL commissioner Ron Robison hinted Wednesday that building a new facility remains a priority."

If one were looking at comparable facilities for 50 Below's new venture, the closest options that they should consider would be either Merlis Belsher Place in Saskatoon or the Colisée Vidéotron in Trois-Rivières. Both arenas are a bowl shape with a concourse around the top, and both would fit the mold of WHL arenas in terms of smaller arena designs.

Merlis Belsher Place's blueprints would need to be expanded from its 2700-seat design to a WHL-standard 4000 seats, but the Colisée Vidéotron seats 4390 fans in its current design. Again, both would be suitable with some modifications if 50 Below needed an arena to copy. The cost of Merlis Belsher Place came in around $51 million while the Colisée Vidéotron came in at $60.6 million, so there's your price tag for what an arena cost prior to the COVID pandemic and the resulting supply chain shortages.

And that leads back to the question of where would they build the arena? With no land secured and time running out as per their promises made to the WHL that was part of the reason the team was approved to move, it seems as though the WHL in Winnipeg is facing another pivotal decision. While the improvements to Wayne Fleming Arena have been required in order to make things more palatable for WHL broadcasts and games, the fact that the attendance standard isn't being met and the revenue generation is likely far less than what 50 Below wants might drive the answer to emerge sooner than later.

We were introduced to the phrase "If you build it, he will come" in Field of Dreams, but it appears that 50 Below has the opposite problem. The fans are showing up for games, specifically on the weekends at Wayne Fleming Arena, but the facility simply isn't suitable for WHL action. The WHL is expecting a new arena to be built and the fans heard the promise made, but without a shovel in the ground the franchise is no closer to a new home than when Greg Fettes made the announcement of the Ice relocating to Winnipeg on January 29, 2019.

With WHL governors meeting this week, the situation in Winnipeg has become a hot topic among the 22 team executives and league executives. The league put their trust in Fettes and Cockell when they took over the Kootenay Ice, and they did so again when they promised to move the failing franchise to a new location that would feature a shiny, new arena. With promises gone unfulfilled, the league has a right to demand answers, but I'm not so sure that 50 Below Sports and Entertainment will have answers.

Despite all their on-ice success, there are cracks in the Winnipeg Ice now showing when it comes to their arena problem. If faith in the ownership group is melting among the league's executives, one has to wonder how much longer their patience will last when it comes to this arena problem. With rumours confirmed by Friesen's article today of "the franchise potentially relocating yet again," there should be real concern about the long-term vitality of the Ice in Winnipeg without that new rink.

If nothing else, perhaps Greg Fettes and Matt Cockell should listen to the voice from Field of Dreams and "go the distance" when it comes to getting an arena built in Winnipeg.

Until next time, keep your sticks on the ice!