Face Off At Wesbild:

This is in todays Morning Star Newspaper:

Face off at Wesbild

By Richard Rolke - Vernon Morning Star

It’s almost like the chicken and the egg thing. Which comes first — the Vernon Vipers or the Interior Logging Association?
Ever since Wesbild Centre opened its doors in 2001, there has been a reoccurring showdown between the B.C. Hockey League team and the region’s largest industry over who has territorial claim to the facility.
In the case of the Vipers, they frequently find themselves skating towards the coveted Royal Bank Cup and that means playoff games in their home den. But for almost a week every two years, Wesbild is the site of the ILA’s annual convention and trade show. That means the Vipers get bumped over to the less-than-ideal Civic Arena.
Now it would be easy to portray the loggers as the bad guys, but that wouldn’t be fair, particularly when many of the members of the Vernon-based ILA are Vipers fans.
The reality is that the ILA convention has been coming to Vernon every second year since the early 1970s and everyone knows it. There should be no surprises for the Vipers or the BCHL.
Based on that knowledge, why did the Doyle Cup have to start in Vernon Friday? Couldn’t the best-of-seven championship have started in Grande Prairie, Alta. so any conflict with the logging show could be avoided?
It should also be pointed out that no matter how much we want the Vipers to go all the way, there is no knowing when their season may end. Regular-season play could be as far as they get or they could wind up in the playoffs. But with the logging show, there’s a firm guarantee, particularly when the ILA booked the Wesbild Centre for this week a full two years ago.
Yes I willingly acknowledge the Vipers are the primary tenant of Wesbild Centre, but when residents voted in 1999 to borrow money to construct the building, it wasn’t supposed to be just an ice rink. The thrust was a multi-use facility that enhances economic development, and a trade show that brings in at least $1.2 million over a few days can certainly be considered that.
For local motels and hotels, the convention is a much-needed boost during the off-season, and anyone feeding those hungry loggers and exhibitors is also happy to see them roll into town, as are the retail merchants.
There’s been suggestions that the ILA could move back to the recreation complex but anyone familiar with the convention’s previous forays there knows that’s unrealistic. There just isn’t enough room for all of the exhibits, including dinosaur-sized loaders and faller-bunchers. And when the ILA was there, all parking was gone, meaning vehicles clogged side roads and daily activities like the Boys and Girls Club and swimming lessons were severely impacted.
From what I understand, conferences are held in April because loggers are available because wet conditions in the bush prevent them from working. That said, things could be certainly simplified if the ILA looked outside the box instead of just saying the conference has to be in April because it’s always been that way.
Obviously the Vipers should be hitting the ice in Wesbild Centre, as it is their home and the potential of drawing a huge ticket-buying crowd is far more assured than Civic. But along with Vernon’s hockey tradition, there is also a strong logging legacy and that means there is no easy solution to who actually gets to use Wesbild.
But this could also be the last time both sides endure such a conflict for awhile.
The ILA is proposing to have its next convention in Vernon in 2012 because of a variety of circumstances, which could give them, the Vipers, the BCHL and the regional district time to accommodate the needs of everyone involved.
If that doesn’t happen, though, the Vernon Vipers have been given plenty of advance notice.