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Warriors may be exiting West Âé¶¹AV

Mark Cheyne, the owner of the BCHL team, is negotiating to move the Warriors to North Delta
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The West Âé¶¹AV Warriors

The defending Canadian Junior A hockey champions may soon be on their way out of West Âé¶¹AV.

Mark Cheyne, the owner of the B.C. Hockey League team, is in the midst of negotiating a move of the Warriors' franchise to North ¶Ù±ð±ô³Ù²¹â€™s Sungod Arena.

“W±ð’r±ð in negotiations, no doubt, but ³Ù³ó²¹³Ù’s where we sit until I get something on ±è²¹±è±ð°ù,†Cheyne told the Surrey Now.

â€Àá’l±ô be honest and up front with you, the sooner the better, if it was going to happen for me, but ¾±³Ù’s up in the air right ²Ô´Ç·É,†Cheyne added. â€Àá’l±ô know more in the next two weeks ±è°ù´Ç²ú²¹²ú±ô²â.â€

The relocation bid and potential move of the Warriors is being discussed this week at the ±ô±ð²¹²µ³Ü±ð’s board of governors meetings.

Since the arrival of the BCHL club 10 years ago in West Âé¶¹AV, the Warriors have been a money-losing proposition for team ownership.

Even after , the °Â²¹°ù°ù¾±´Ç°ù²õ’ owner said little has changed for the club, both in terms of interest and drawing fans to Royal LePage Place.

â€Àá³Ù’s about a chance to break even there (in North Delta) because we just ³¦²¹²Ô’t break even here, you k²Ô´Ç·É,†Cheyne said.

â€Àá³Ù’s just a better move financially. With the (WHL) Rockets here and everything, ¾±³Ù’s just a case of (people) »å´Ç²Ô’t support it here as well as they need to, ³Ù³ó²¹³Ù’s for sure, even with a national championship, a really good team last ²â±ð²¹°ù,†he added.

â€Àá was told all along, for 10 years, that once we get over that hump, win the division, win something, things will change here drastically, but ³Ù³ó²¹³Ù’s just not the ³¦²¹²õ±ð.â€

BCHL commissioner John Grisdale confirmed to the Surrey Now that “t³ó±ð°ù±ð’s interest for a team to play in North Delta, either a relocation or an expansion ³Ù±ð²¹³¾,†starting in the fall of 2017.

Grisdale »å¾±»å²Ô’t guarantee a decision would be made this week but said “T³ó±ð league will look where ¾±³Ù’s at, where its existing franchises are, to see ·É³ó²¹³Ù’s best for the league. We have 17 franchises, and we have to consider ·É³ó²¹³Ù’s best for ³Ù³ó±ð³¾.â€

The Warriors relocated to West Âé¶¹AV from Langley for the start of the 2006-07 BCHL season. Cheyne was a co-owner for two seasons, before taking on sole ownership of the BCHL club in the fall of 2009.

—W¾±³Ù³ó files from Surrey ±·´Ç·É—

Warriors host ³Õ±ð°ù²Ô´Ç²Ô…

The Warriors look to stretch their BCHL home-ice winning streak to eight games Friday when they host the Vernon Vipers.

Face-off at Royal LePage Place is 7 p.m.

West Âé¶¹AV made it seven straight at home with a 7-3 win Sunday over the Cowichan Valley Capitals.

Conner ³§´Ç»å±ð°ù²µ°ù±ð²Ô’s hot streak continued, as the Warriors forward had a goal and four assists. The 20-year-old Massachusetts native has seven goals and 12 points in his last five games.