Plea made for jUnstructured lice time fee Sy Martin Millerchip Contributing Writer a iller@nsnews.cam ST like the possibifi- of the Canucks win- earning the Stanley Cup, Shope for a new ice rink a the District of North gVancouver springs eter- ' Tuesday night, the many opefuls who have not lost ith were once again in front f council at the public hearing or the proposed Windridge Mice Arena. As at two recent public nectings, the overwhelming ajority came less to lobby for rezoning than to press for me September 1998 opening. “In 1995 we were where ave are today, — sarting a process,” Dan Morrison told ouncil. : Morrison, who is past pres- ; Adent of North Vancouver inor- ‘Hockey Association oo A), said he was “a maoice in the dark” in 1989 mwhen he first began to lobby 3f another ice rink in North introduc tory-ofter.onl 998 > yo. He outlined six years of public pressure, petitions, and planning to get to the point where the recreation commis- sion entered into an agree- ment with the Burrard Band in 1995 to lease ice time from an arena to be built on band lands in Seymour. But when that project failed to get off the ground because of financing problems the district. and ree commis- sion were back to square one. The Windridge nnk, which will likely receive council bless- ing Oct. 6, could offer any- where between two and four sheets of ice. The final configuration will likely depend on the private developer who will contract to build and operate the facility on approximately six acres of leased municipal land at the southeast corner of Mr. Seymour Parkway and Berkley Road. User groups are already apprehensive about losing control of the facilitv’s design requirements and the alloca- tion and pricing of ice time beyond that contracted for by the recreation commission. Hugh Forster, a coach of tykes ‘(six- and seven-year- olds), told council the quality ofice and the quality of facility varies dramatically in Lower Mainland rinks built in the last five years. SPoorly designed ice won’t stand up to the wear and tear this rink will get,” said Forster. “I'm not suggesting we need another GM Place {home of the Canucks) but I encourage you to contact the coaches of the NVMHA to find out what works,” he told council.” Forster noted the big busi- ness of hockey tournaments and coaching camps, and sug- gested the night type of facility would attract such opporruni- ties to the North Shore. He pleaded for good sight lines, as many sheets of ice as possible, adequate dressing room space and facilities for food and beverage. Forster also asked for unstructured ice time to be made available for pickup games of shinny. He spoke of his experiences as a coach, noting that the rea- son young boys play hockey is their dads are generally players. “Yet there is nowhere in the community for these fami- lies to go and play the game for fun on a pickup basis,” said Forster. Besides the need for unstructured hockey time, council heard a litany of orga- nized hockey groups without ice time or limited to playing in Burnaby. “Minor hockey has a wait list of nearly 500 children,” said Sandy Flemming, vice- chairman of the Community Sport and Recreation Advisory Committee. “Girl’s and women’s ice hockey programs cannot expand due to a lack of avail- able ice time, even though demand is increasing every year. “The availability of recre- ational skating and learn-to- Lease for ence October 5, 1997 — North Shore News — 15 User groups push for new NV ice arena skate programs is limited. We have no speedskating on the North Shore.” Flemming said his commit- tee was concerned as to what extent adult user groups might have to subsidize the ice time purchased from the operator at reduced rates by the rec commission. He suggested that a financ- ing structure similar to that used for the Northlands Golf Course be used. Northlands was built with money borrowed from the dis- trict’s Heritage Fund (land sales money) and is to be paid back with interest from operat- ing profits. Buy from $229 pvonth” $13, 393 * $2500 downpayment, 36 mo. term, O.A.C TALG S8AAO. Applicable taxes extra plus freight & p.d.i.($895). Vehicle not exactly as shown. 97 Nissan King. a Cab KES Life is a journey. | sophe: REGENCY ATI GROUP ES Standard features Indude ar conditioning 14° alloy wheel, speakers, chrome package, tachometer, 2.4 Applicable taxes extra plus freight & p.d.i. olde aaa Enjoy the ride. Regency Nissan ca Titre, 134hp engine and much, much more. yO N iss an Let us help you make sure they’re in the right place. At North Shore, we’ll give you our best rates, best products and best advice to help you choose investments that are right for you. We'll make it simple. Call 713-3000 today You Belong Here %— NORTH SHORE Be@l CREDIT UNION