On Saturday night, the Vernon Vipers are set to face off against the Prince George Spruce Kings. It will be the last junior hockey game in the historic Civic Arena before the building is torn down.
The game will be taking place 80 years — to the day — after the grand opening ceremony in 1938.
“There is a lot of hockey history in that building and we are looking forward to honoring it,” Vipers executive vice president Todd Miller said.
“The atmosphere in that building is pretty surreal when warmup starts and the buildings is full. It will be an exciting time for players and fans.”
It appears many want to say goodbye to a piece of Vernon hockey history and send the Civic Arena off in style. The game is sold out.
All 1,100 Vipers season ticket holders have tickets to the game and another 1,100 tickets have been sold but there may be tickets at the door if some season ticket holders don’t show up.
“What we don’t know is how many season ticket holders will exercise their tickets. We’ve contacted each one personally and we believe that about 99 per cent of them will be attending the game but we are going to do what we can to be able to release any additional tickets once we start getting people into the building,” Miller said.
The team is suggesting anyone interested in last-minute tickets arrive at the arena at 5 p.m. on Saturday and be able to pay for their tickets in cash.
There will be a few special touches to pay homage to the history of the building.
“There are a number of different things that include commemorative jerseys that our players will be wearing that are very close to the original jerseys that were worn by the Vancouver team that played the first game in 1938 at the Civic Arena. There will be an opening ceremony involving a few individuals who have played a lot of their minor hockey in the Civic Arena,” Miller said.
The building is being torn down because it would cost millions to continue running the aging rink for even five more years.
The Civic Arena is being replaced by an added ice sheet at Kal Tire Place.