Sun Bowl Arena staff, along with the Osoyoos Coyotes junior hockey club, have been busy revamping the soon-to-be home of Osoyoos’ new Junior B hockey team. Sponsors are now well-represented throughout the arena, including in the ice. Photo by Randy Bedard - Click on picture for larger image
OSOYOOS TIMES-August 11, 2010
By Pawan Deol – Special to the Osoyoos Times
Some small changes at the Sun Bowl Arena will make a big impact on all involved with Osoyoos’s new junior hockey club.
The biggest change: fresh, new advertising signs featuring local sponsors.
“When people come into the building, they will see the community’s support clearly . . . and recognize the sponsors that are getting behind the junior hockey program and making it so viable in the community,” said Randy Bedard, the director of business operations for the Osoyoos Coyotes.
Bedard said he is always impressed by the community’s support, as well as the tremendous care the Sun Bowl Arena staff take of the building, which he acclaims as “one of the greatest rinks anywhere in a community of this size.”
More company logos of sponsors can also be found in the ice, along with the new team’s coyote head logo at centre ice.
Advertising and art will soon make its way onto the broadcast booth, stairs, rink boards and glass.
In addition to new signage, the staff at the arena also applied fresh coats of paint to the dressing room walls and benches, as well as the office area.
Incorporating the new team colours of burgundy and white, and putting a new wood trim on the stalls, gives the dressing rooms a classier, cleaner look.
A magnetic board with the latest standings of the 18 Kootenay International Junior Hockey League (KIJHL) teams will also be another addition found near the concession.
Bedard said the staff at the arena have been nothing short of phenomenal during the revamping process.
“They have bent over backwards for us . . . they are so accommodating, and they did most of the painting and a lot of the work. I would really like to thank them for their cooperation.”
Bedard also credits all the sponsors from Osoyoos, Oliver and Oroville for their continuous support.
“The club wouldn’t exist without them,” Bedard emphasizes. “If you don’t have the businesses and the community behind you, you will not live, you will not survive.”
As the revamping of the arena finishes up in the next few weeks, Coyote fans and players alike can look forward to the new season, which gets underway on September 10.
The team’s main camp opens on Aug. 26 at the arena.
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