Kamloops city staff say they are in continuing talks with Tk’emlúps te Secwepemc about the future of ice sheets in the community.

Director of protective and community services Byron McCorkell says finding a replacement for the Ice Box on TteS land has been a main focuse since it closed in 2015.

“We have had conversations with TteS as far as doing something in partnership with them, those conversations continue. The Ice Box itself, our staff actually looked at when it was up for sale. And my understanding is that it’s been transferred into some sort of operation,” McCorkell says.

“The ice box played a key component to our adult hockey and ice leagues. And so the loss of it has definitely put an impact on the availability of ice in our community, specifically on the adult side. We saw some dramatic impacts to women’s hockey, because they just lost opportunities. And trying to fit those into an existing, well-used inventory was extremely difficult. And quite frankly we lost some opportunities for people, so that’s definitely front and centre.”

The city’s recreation master plan says the amount of ice in Kamloops is sufficient for the next six years but calls for two-to-three new sheets of ice in the next 12 years.