A new ownership group has taken control of the West Kelowna Warriors.
On Friday, the junior A hockey team announced that Mark Cheyne and Vision Sports Group had sold the team to KD Sports Ltd., a group run by current team president Kim Dobranski and a minority silent partner. Terms of the sale were not disclosed.
Cheyne and Vision Sports purchased the Warriors nine years ago. The team won a national championship in 2016, but, despite that success, financial woes have troubled the team.
Just two months after winning the RBC Cup, the franchise asked for, and received a rental break at Royal LePage Place. Cheyne asked West Kelowna to reduce its rent from $63,600 to $52,000, which city council agreed to. In asking for the rent break, Cheyne told city council the franchise had lost more $300,000 that season.
In January of 2017, Cheyne apparently had a deal in place to sell and relocate the team to North Delta. The sale fell through, though Cheyne announced in March the team had added a group of local investors to keep the team in the Okanagan.
Looking ahead, new team owner and president Dobranski said he was “very excited to work towards developing a sustainable business model where the community can participate and take ownership in this team.
“Our division and the BCHL is the top league to play and enjoy junior hockey in Canada and we are very fortunate to have this caliber of hockey in our back yard. Communities thrive socially and economically when they adopt a sports team and teams such as the Warriors also help build a sense of identity for a community.”
Dobranski said a society has been established in correlation with the team, allowing the public to be more involved than ever before.
“This organization is not about any one person; it’s about the community it resides in, the players who come here and represent us, many of them local kids, and our collective role in sport producing good citizens for our communities,” said Dobranski, “This franchise existed long before, and it will continue to exist long after, continuing the good work the BCHL does in our communities.”
This season will be the franchise’s 25th, beginning in 1994 as the Langley Thunder before moving to the Westside in 2006. The name changed to the West Kelowna Warriors in 2012.
The Warriors’ 2018-19 regular-season schedule has been released; the team will open with a home-and-home set against the Trail Smoke Eaters. West Kelowna will visit Trail on Friday, September 7th, then host the Smokies on Saturday, September 8th.
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