[Report] RT calls out ownership for no practice facility

[Captain Canuck #12]

3 hours ago, EddieVedder said:

Just rent out canlan, sheesh

That's kinda what I was thinkin too....

[Citizen Erased]

41 minutes ago, dougieL said:

 

What about building a practice rink underneath Roger's Arena? It seems to me that having your practice rink close to the arena would be the most logical choice.

Yeah and it can act as a bomb shelter too.

[King Heffy]

29 minutes ago, BlakeQuinnAndEggs said:

Enough with the excuses, there is space to build one.

 

PNE grounds, Concord Pacific place off the top of my head. 

 

YVR... 

 

North burnaby

 

But we have the most useless government in Canada. They don't even know how to fight fires...  Too much bureaucracy in BC. 

I wasn't aware that the Vancouver city council was responsible for fighting the fires currently ravaging the rest of the province.

[DownUndaCanuck]

Pretty rubbish but why doesn't the whole team just relocate for a month or so to somewhere that has a free rink? Stay in a hotel, mini pre-training camp? There's always a way around these things. I can understand why building an entire rink in a city doesn't happen over night and this is a new management squad coming in, but in the meanwhile the current players have to find a way around it. Otherwise it sounds like they're all just training and skating in isolation.

[wai_lai416]

1 hour ago, BlakeQuinnAndEggs said:

Enough with the excuses, there is space to build one.

 

PNE grounds, Concord Pacific place off the top of my head. 

 

YVR... 

 

North burnaby

 

But we have the most useless government in Canada. They don't even know how to fight fires...  Too much bureaucracy in BC. 

concord pacific place is not in discussion the canucks walked away from it 3 or 4 years ago  that's where they were gonna originally build it but the developer said the canucks balked and walked away.. 

 

they already stated they want the practice facility in and around the downtown area.. majority of the player lives in yaletown and JT miller lives in west Van.. they ain't gonna build it in YVR or Burnaby where the commute can be hell for the players depending on time of the day.. ideally they build it across the bridge where there's a giant lot the VPD use to park their vehicles. but i think that plot of land is zoned to be a park.. will they revisit the plaza of nation concord pacific place? i doubt it.. if they were willing to go back they'd go back already instead of continue being in limbo. 

 

my prediction the canucks wont have their own practice facility for another 5+ years.. or maybe never.. until they build a new arena 

[N4ZZY]

5 hours ago, grandmaster said:

(copied from Facebook)
Canucks Daily:

LATEST | Canucks' coach Rick Tocchet calls out the team and its owners

Published August 30, 2023 at 5:41 PM
BY FELIP GOSSELIN
 

We're just a little over 40 days until the season opener and even fewer days before the teams kick off their respective training camps. It's not unusual for veterans to get to the city a little before things start in order to get back to their routine and get the band back together.

Rick Tocchet spoke to Sportsnet earlier today and sent a clear message to the organization, pointing out what they lack. Tocchet pointed out that the team still hasn't figured out their way around the practice facility, and it became hard to practice with the club when Rogers Arena was under construction or when it hoisted different events:
 

‘'We don't have a practice facility (and) Rogers Arena was under construction. There's a lot of things that we just don't have, so I can't really blame the players.[] ‘' I can't be disappointed players were not here in mid-August because they probably had a facility or something where they were. [] We want players to stay and train under our umbrella, under our roof. The best teams do that.‘'

 

Tocchet definitely used his interview to send a clear message to the organization. He noted that every top organization in this league finds ways to reunite their players in august to get things started, As pointed out, it's hard to pin that on the players since Vancouver couldn't offer its players such a thing.

The issue was later discussed on Sekeres & Price, and the opinions were lopsided; they all agreed that an organization of that calibre should have an appropriate training facility.

 

The question at that point remains whether or not the ownership group will be taking matters into their own hands to resolve this issue. When the NHL's top free agents are shopping for their new teams, you can be sure that the team's facilities are one thing they consider.

 

 

Is anyone surprised? This team and organization has been the laughing stock of the entire league. 

 

They can't even get their scoreboard done for a f**king Drake concert. C'mon, that's just embarassing. 

 

World class organization? I think not. 

 

[N4ZZY]

4 minutes ago, wai_lai416 said:

my prediction the canucks wont have their own practice facility for another 5+ years.. or maybe never.. until they build a new arena 

this club is a f**king joke. 

 

[DS4quality]

3 hours ago, Ghostsof1915 said:

Or as simple as real estate is not exactly cheap right now. There's the possibility of the area where St. Pauls is moving too, and the location of Emily Carr. (False Creek Flats?)

What I don't get is at Granville Island the buildings that housed Emily Carr are just sitting vacant from what I can tell. There is also the area by the Fraser River near Marpole that's all industrial. Lots of room there for practice facility. How about offer to expand UBC's Thunderbird Sports Centre. Honestly its an International Ice sized rink that has 7500 seats.

What's the big deal of owing your practice facility? Arizona doesn't even have a home rink that seats 7500 people. As long as the facilities are there. Most practices are in the morning anyways. I'm pretty sure the UBC Thunderbirds aren't playing games in the morning. And the T-Birds can practice early at say 7am? And be done long before the Canucks start their practices. Is the gym too small? Not enough video facilities?

 

Emily Carr is now owned by Arts  Umbrella on Granville island. It's an arts academy for young artisits

[N4ZZY]

6 minutes ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Otherwise it sounds like they're all just training and skating in isolation.

cue bad season coming up. 

 

Petey leaves after next season, or whenever he's able to.

 

[Viper007]

19 minutes ago, N4ZZY said:

Is anyone surprised? This team and organization has been the laughing stock of the entire league. 

 

They can't even get their scoreboard done for a f**king Drake concert. C'mon, that's just embarassing. 

 

World class organization? I think not. 

 

Is the scoreboard thing really on the canucks organization?  I think it's more on the company installing it.  I'm pretty sure if the organization was the laughing stock of the league, nobody would want to come play here, yet players are signing without getting paid premium salaries too, the last couple of seasons.

[iinatcc]

4 hours ago, Elias Pettersson said:

The issue is not Aquilini or him being cheap.  He is a billionaire.  Also, his father has been dealing with the city since the 1970's.  I think it has more to do with the fact that there isn't any land available around Rogers Arena that can be rezoned to be used as a practice facility.  The city would rather build more condos downtown than have a huge chunk of land taken up by an ice rink and parking.  

 

The only way a practice facility gets built is if it's done in the suburbs.  Somewhere in Surrey would be ideal.  There is lots of land out there and it's alot cheaper and easier to rezone than in downtown Vancouver or on the Westside...

Now I want to see his car

 

 

[Canucks_fo_life]

I've never understood this, Rogers Arena is always open to these guys and the odd time its not they have 8 Rinks in Burnaby, none of this makes any difference really

[IBatch]

 Anyone who read the interview, knows Tochett followed it up saying there is 7 or so guys here already working together, and he expects 20-25 by the weekend.    This is taking one part of his interview and making it into another.    How many teams start mid-August?    Training camp is often not at home.   For sure the team needs all this stuff, it's something Rutherford brought up right away, supposedly it's been worked on but not sure why it would take more than a year to build.    

[Iron Fist]

7 hours ago, DeNiro said:

People need to consider that Aquilini just might not be one of the developers in the back pockets of our politicians.

 

We all know how long it takes for anything to get developed in Vancouver. Unless of course you know the right people…

 

My guess is there will be a long back and forth of who pays for what if it ever gets decided. We’re probably 10 years from getting this team a practice facility.

No those guys are connected. They have mega projects going in every major city across Canada. Even on native reserves. 

[IBatch]

5 hours ago, grandmaster said:

The title of the article said he called out ownership and in reading what was said, I agree. How about I change the title to calling out ownership. Would that make you feel better?

 

Edit - that’s actually what I did in the first place!

To me, it was just answering a question and acknowledging the same things Rutherford said they are working on when he came in to make this a professional organization,  a big one there own practice facility.    Didn't seem like finger pointing.   Maybe a jab.   This is an ownership group that's bought out players and spent 10's of millions on payroll each year, when they could have instead been a cap floor team and let things bottom out.    Im sure they are possibly looking at creating an entire new arena instead as well.   Either way, once it starts, it will take a year at least to build.   So best case 2024-2025.    
 

Edit:  Tochett could have found somewhere and had them meet there.   There are arenas all over the province i'm sure would love to rent to the Canucks for two weeks, would also be great for the fans and the players..  Very simple solution.   

Edited August 31, 2023 by IBatch

[IBatch]

3 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Pretty rubbish but why doesn't the whole team just relocate for a month or so to somewhere that has a free rink? Stay in a hotel, mini pre-training camp? There's always a way around these things. I can understand why building an entire rink in a city doesn't happen over night and this is a new management squad coming in, but in the meanwhile the current players have to find a way around it. Otherwise it sounds like they're all just training and skating in isolation.

Exactly.   Wouldn't cost the club much to rent a rink and a  hotel/resort  in a small BC town for a couple weeks, then everyone heads for camp.    Would be a great team building experience plus they'd get to meet fans and be around grass roots, young hockey players.    There are enough beautiful spots with nice digs.     They do need it all under one umbrela for sure.   But getting them here early is enough to do. 

[spook007]

8 hours ago, Citizen Erased said:

I vote to rename it our Aquilini’s heel.

[spook007]

7 hours ago, Viper007 said:

Did we really need a new thread for this?  This was taken out of the sportsnet q&a article, which Arrogant Worm already posted.

 

This part doesn't really throw the organization under the bus.

 

I can't be disappointed players were not here in mid-August because they probably had a facility or something where they were. We're working on that as an organization. We want players to stay and train under our umbrella, under our roof. The best teams do that.

 

 

 

Agree Viper...

Doesn't really throw anyone under the bus. 
That's just stating facts. 

[HorvatToBaertschi]

4 hours ago, DownUndaCanuck said:

Pretty rubbish but why doesn't the whole team just relocate for a month or so to somewhere that has a free rink? Stay in a hotel, mini pre-training camp? There's always a way around these things. I can understand why building an entire rink in a city doesn't happen over night and this is a new management squad coming in, but in the meanwhile the current players have to find a way around it. Otherwise it sounds like they're all just training and skating in isolation.

Uprooting dozens of families for the sake of getting ice time for a month is a bit of an.. interesting idea? Schools are starting, most of our players have kids, they are getting their home lives in order, providing support to their significant others. If we had a practice facility in Vancouver, all of this would be a moot point; personal and professional life wouldn't have to clash entirely. 

[IBatch]

6 minutes ago, HorvatToBaertschi said:

Uprooting dozens of families for the sake of getting ice time for a month is a bit of an.. interesting idea? Schools are starting, most of our players have kids, they are getting their home lives in order, providing support to their significant others. If we had a practice facility in Vancouver, all of this would be a moot point; personal and professional life wouldn't have to clash entirely. 

Well.   What about all those ordinary folks who have family members going to the Oil fields, the forrest's, mines or another country to serve for us, or wherever to do their thing without the luxury of a 100-500k paycheque a month to have the best support available?   Sorry only thing I agree about is it's a moot point.    Arizona players have a lot worse to deal with.   Can it be better?  Sure.     It's not that hard to find an ice rink in BC to rent, and make sure they can have steak and lobster flown in or whatever it is they need to do their routine.