Canucks in talks with City of Vancouver about practice facility at PNE
You can add another rink to the list of potential Vancouver Canucks practice facilities.
Vancouver City Councillor Mike Klassen confirmed on Wednesday that the Canucks are in talks with the city about putting a practice facility at the PNE. Klassen mentioned the Agrodome, which is already going to serve as the practice facility for Vancouver’s new Professional Women’s Hockey League team.
The Canucks have been trying to build a new practice facility for more than 10 years without success. It has become a source of embarrassment for the club, as the Canucks are now the lone NHL team without even a plan to build one.
“There are conversations going. Where they’re at at this point is unclear. But there is a strong expression of interest,” Klassen said in an interview with Mike Halford and Jason Brough.
“For [Vancouver’s new PWHL team], the Agrodome will be their practice facility. It makes sense for me, but we have to sort of see whether it pencils out for the Canucks organization to be a part of that as well. But I could just see it. Again, it takes money to invest.”
š£ļø"I can say there are conversations going. Where they're at at this point is unclear, but there is a strong expression of interest."
ā¶ļø Mike & Jason chat with @MikeKlassen for a #Canucks practice facility update.
— Sportsnet 650 (@Sportsnet650) June 11, 2025
Built in 1963, the Agrodome is a 3,000-seat arena that sits right next door to the Pacific Coliseum on the PNE grounds. The 62-year-old arena would need major renovations to bring it up to the standards of a modern NHL practice facility, though.
“It’s a little long in the tooth,” Klassen admitted. “But if you come in with future-focused organizations like those ones, and make those investments into it, you can have it really sparkling and being a great place to accomplish all that you need and also turn around a public benefit at the same time.”
The PNE option follows news that Canucks management toured Rosemary Brown Recreation Centre in South Burnaby, as well as Britannia in East Vancouver.
“There’s a lot happening right now”
The Canucks, BC Lions, Vancouver Whitecaps, Vancouver Giants, and Vancouver VooDoo all used to call the PNE home. Figure skating and short-track speed skating were also held on the grounds.
Other than one-off events and horse racing at Hastings Racecourse, there hasn’t been much happening sports-wise at the PNE for the past decade.
That’s about to change, with Vancouver’s new PWHL team playing at the Pacific Coliseum beginning this fall and a new amphitheatre being built in time to host the FIFA World Cup Fan Festival in 2026.
The City of Vancouver is also in talks with the Whitecaps about building an outdoor, soccer-specific stadium at the PNE.
“There’s a lot happening right now, I wish I could talk about more of it, because some of it we have to wait for the ink to dry on some things, and other ones are early conversations,” Klassen said. “But I’m very bullish on the future of the PNE and the whole Hastings Park. And I know a lot of people are too.”