The Delta Ice Hawks are relocating to North Delta's Sungod Arena for the 2025-26 hockey season.
The move, announced Thursday afternoon (June 5), coincides with the Pacific Junior Hockey League Junior A team's promotion to Tier 1 and marks a "significant step forward" in enhancing player development, fan experience and community engagement, as well as the potential to host future Junior A Tier 1 championships and other events, according a league press release.
“It’s a very exciting and bittersweet moment. There are so many amazing memories and so much history in the 28 consecutive seasons at Ladner Leisure Centre, as a Junior B club and, most recently, a Junior A Tier 2 club,” Ice Hawks owner Eduard Epshtein said in the release.
"With this move, we are starting a new chapter in the team’s history as Junior A Tier 1 hockey team. We are grateful to the City of Delta and the minor hockey associations for making this move possible. We hope that our South Delta-based fans continue to support our team in the new North Delta location.”
At 2,000 seats, the "centrally-located" Sungod Arena has about double the capacity of the Ladner Leisure Centre. It served as a venue for the 2022 IIHF World Under-17 Hockey Challenge, and the Ice Hawks’ expanded team room will be same one Team Canada used during the tournament.
The change in venue also means a change in game times, with future Ice Hawks home games taking place Saturday nights at 7 p.m., rathr than Tuesday nights at 7:30 p.m.
“The City of Delta is proud to support the Delta Ice Hawks as they take this exciting next step in their journey,” Mayor George Harvie said in a press release.
“The move to Sungod Arena not only reflects the team’s incredible growth and success but also strengthens community connections in North Delta. We look forward to welcoming fans from across Delta to cheer on the Ice Hawks in their new home and to enjoy the vibrant atmosphere this move will bring to Sungod Recreation Centre.”
Next fall will mark the PJHL's first season as a two-tier league, building on its transition to Junior A Tier 2 ahead of 2023-24.
Announced back in March, the 2025-26 league alignment will see seven of the league's teams play in Junior A Tier 1, and the other eight in Junior A Tier 2.
The top-tier teams are Chilliwack Jets, Coastal Tsunami, Delta Ice Hawks, Burnaby Steelers (who announced a name change from Grandview Steelers on June 3), Langley Trappers, Richmond Sockeyes and Ridge Meadows Flames.
The Tier 2 franchises are Abbotsford Pilots, Aldergrove Kodiaks, Mission City Outlaws, North Vancouver Wolf Pack, Port Coquitlam Trailblazers, Port Moody Panthers, Surrey Knights and White Rock Whalers.
As well, an as-yet-unnamed Cloverdale franchise will join the league next season and compete in Tier 2.
In its first year, the team will play as the “Cloverdale Junior Hockey Club,” while fans have “the opportunity to help shape the team’s permanent identity through public voting — a celebration of community ownership and spirit,” according to a PJHL release in May.
The Cloverdale Junior Hockey Club will play out of the historic Cloverdale Arena (aka The Barn) for its first two seasons and will open the 2027-2028 season at the new Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex currently being built on the north end of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds.
The new franchise marks the return of Junior A hockey to Cloverdale for the first time since the late ’70s. The Cloverdale Cowboys played in The Barn as part of the old West Coast Junior Hockey League from 1977 to 1979.
— with files from Tom Zillich and Malin Jordan
