The Issues:

The North Shore Inline Hockey League (NSIHL) is Canada's largest non-profit inline hockey leagues, serving as a home to almost 900 youth and 400 adults who play between March and August out of Karen Magnussen Rec Centre. The league is an affordable and accessible option for anyone who wants to explore the sport, and takes numerous accessibility measures, including: free goal-tending equipment loans and fee reimbursement for youth goaltenders, free practice and training opportunities for all youth players, registration discounts to encourage more girls to play hockey, $100 equipment credit for players 9 years old and younger,  post-secondary scholarship opportunities for players, and the only adult women's hockey division in Canada - which is offered at a discount rate for further accessibility and to encourage more women to join the sport.

Due to the popularity of the sport, the accessibility of the league and numerous notable alum and current players who are in the NHL, there is a significant waitlist of players and families who want to join the league, but cannot due to the capacity limits of the single rink at Karen Magnussen.

This single rink at Karen Magnussen Rec Centre now faces an uncertain future.
North Van Rec has been looking at renovations at the rink that would displace the league. This could effectively end league operations on the North Shore. There exists alternative venues for inline hockey in other communities, but for North Shore families this may not be appropriate. The league currently rents the rink at Karen Magnussen and handles the installation and removal of the inline floor. This is a significant summer revenue stream for North Van Rec, and losing the league to another venue could also impact all North Shore taxpayers.

Additionally, with the current waitlist, the league is looking for more space, and even a dedicated year-round space to meet demand. Certainty and capacity are top priorities.

The Ask:

The NSIHL is asking North Vancouver Rec, the City of North Vancouver, the District of North Vancouver, and the District of West Vancouver to come together and ensure inline hockey can continue to operate through public facilities on the North Shore. The league is asking for a pause to the renovations at Karen Magnussen until a suitable alternative venue can be found, even if it is just a temporary and short term one for the course of the renovations. 

For the long term, the NSIHL is asking for a full time, secure and dedicated sporting facility to meet the demand for inline hockey in North Vancouver. The current waitlist is large enough that if the North Shore could get two year-round rinks, the space could be filled up and fully used. Inline hockey rinks are significantly cheaper to build and maintain than ice hockey rinks, and the floor space can also be used for other sports like floor hockey, basketball, pickelball, lacrosse and soccer. With this in mind, a multisport complex would not only help the NSIHL, but would build and improve multiple sporting communities, create good and stable jobs, and even allow for the hosting of International Tournaments, which can have significant tourism revenue attached.