The B.C. Hockey League is considering playing all of its games next season in Penticton.
According to documents obtained by former Kamloops Daily News sports editor Gregg Drinnan, the league is working a plan to have its 17 B.C.-based teams play a 20- or 24-game regular season and a 10-day playoff tournament at South Okanagan Events Centre in Penticton. Players and staff would be housed at the adjacent Penticton Trade and Convention Centre.
Teams would have to isolate themselves in quarantine for two weeks before their first game and during that time each player would be tested for COVID-19 as many as five times.
As Drinnan writes on his daily blog, Taking Note, the document reveals one possible scenario would have the quarantine period from Jan. 15-29. The regular season would run from Feb. 1-March 22, leading in to the playoff tournament March 23-April 2.
Each player would have to continue paying a $1,500-per-month league fee, as they have been doing since the teams started their training camps in October.
The Wenatchee Wild, which announced last week it is taking a one-year hiatus from league play due to the closure of the Canada-U.S. border to non-essential travel, would not be part of the Penticton bubble.
The document states the league will present the Penticton plan later this month to the provincial health office. To proceed, it would need the approval of the provincial government, health authorities, BC Hockey and Hockey Canada. The BCHL is continuing to work out details to improve the plan.
Prince George Spruce Kings general manager Mike Hawes, who serves on the BCHL’s return-to-play committee, declined comment. BCHL commissioner Chris Hebb did not return a phone message or text.
Last Wednesday, Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonny Henry announced new restrictions on sports teams which prevent players 19 and older from engaging in any team activities. The restriction, in effect through Monday, limits youth athletes to training sessions or practices, with no games allowed.
Before the latest restrictions were announced, the BCHL had been planning to start its season on Tuesday, with games to be played in front of empty stands. Teams played a limited exhibition schedule the past two months against opponents within their cohorts. The Spruce Kings, whose closest league opponent is six hours away in Merritt, were grouped with the Merritt Centennials, Trail Smoke Eaters and the expansion Cranbroook Bucks.
