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While the Kamloops Blazers were celebrating a successful Memorial Cup bid over the weekend, the City of Kelowna was looking for answers.
According to a statement from the Kelowna Rockets, the team was unable to bid for the 2023 event due to "significant deficiencies" at Prospera Place.
The announcement came as a surprise to many fans who didn't know what deficiencies could have arisen since 2020 when the team was supposed to host the tournament.
"The Kelowna Rockets wanted nothing more than to host and win the 2023 Memorial Cup in front of our loyal fans," read a published statement from the team. "We are as disappointed as you are to not be able to do so."
Before entering a bid for 2023, an audit was conducted to see if Prospera Place could hold the event. The audit found that the arena didn't meet CHL standards for hosting the Memorial Cup.
"When we submitted our intent to bid, there was an audit conducted of Prospera Place, commissioned by the Rockets, the City of Kelowna, and the GSL Group, who own, operate and manage the arena. This audit found that there were significant deficiencies that needed to be upgraded for the facility to meet the CHL standards for hosting the Memorial Cup."
Rockets statement regarding the 2023 Memorial Cup: pic.twitter.com/yD8O6KCNmo
— Kelowna Rockets (@Kelowna_Rockets) May 28, 2022
"Ultimately, an agreement with the Rockets, City of Kelowna, and the GSL Group could not be reached to make the necessary capital improvements to the building. As a result, the building did not meet the minimum standards required to host the event by the CHL, and consequently, the Rockets could not proceed with our bid to host the 2023 Memorial Cup."
The 2022-23 season marks 23 years that the Rockets have played at Prospera Place. They have participated in over 900 games in the building.
"Our hope as we look toward the future is that the GSL Group will work to complete the necessary improvements the audit identified so that we can once again bring a Memorial Cup back to Kelowna."
NowMedia reached out to GSL Group over the weekend and received no reply. We will update this story if more information becomes available.
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