Vancouver Giants' planned departure caught Langley Township officials by surprise

This week, the Vancouver Giants’ planned future move to Surrey caught the Township of Langley completely off guard, years before the team could actually leave the Township-owned Langley Events Centre.

In an interview with Daily Hive Urbanized late Tuesday afternoon, Langley Township Mayor Eric Woodward said his municipal government was not informed ahead of Tuesday morning’s major announcement that the Giants have signed an agreement in principle to become the development partner and anchor tenant of the City of Surrey’s planned new 10,000-seat indoor arena.

If this mixed-use development project does go ahead as planned, the venue could begin construction in 2027 for a targeted completion in 2030.

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Moreover, as of late Tuesday afternoon, Woodward said he had not yet spoken with Giants leadership about the announcement — they had not reached out to him — and there had been no direct indication beforehand that the team was preparing to make such a decision or that they were unsatisfied with their arrangement at Langley Events Centre. But he did understand why it might have been kept a secret, given the nature of negotiations during the procurement process and any disclosure restrictions under the agreement with Surrey’s municipal government.

“We’re aware of their desire to be located directly on the SkyTrain network”

He did not frame the Giants’ planned future departure in 2030 as a dispute with the Township or a reflection of problems with Langley Events Centre.

“No, I don’t think they’re unhappy with the Langley Events Centre at all. In fact, I think they’re quite happy with it,” said Woodward when asked.

But Woodward says he knows the longtime owners of this Western Hockey League (WHL) team have always desired a home venue that is directly served by major public transit services, specifically SkyTrain. Not only is the Surrey City Centre site immediately adjacent to Surrey Central Station — which will see far greater regional connectivity beginning in late 2029, when the Expo Line’s Surrey-Langley SkyTrain extension opens — but it is also next to a major bus exchange with 20 bus stop routes and TransLink’s future King George Boulevard Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) line.

In contrast, Langley Events Centre has comparatively limited public transit options, although it could be directly served by the public transit authority’s future Langley-Haney Place BRT line, which would connect to SkyTrain’s future Willowbrook Station on the Surrey-Langley extension.

Woodward said he fully understands why the Giants may see Surrey’s emerging downtown as a more attractive future home, but he emphasized the Township has no plans to chase the team or try to convince it to recommit to Langley Events Centre, which has 5,300 seats in its ice hockey configuration — about half the capacity of the planned Surrey venue.

The team’s existing lease is set to expire in 2030, which coincides with the targeted opening date of “Surrey City Centre Arena and Cultural Event Centre.”

“We certainly understand and we’re aware of their desire to be located directly on the SkyTrain network in closer proximity to Vancouver,” Mayor Woodward told Daily Hive Urbanized.

“If they want to go in a different direction with the City of Surrey, I totally understand that. Wish them well and all that. Like, I think it’s a great announcement for them at the City of Surrey. I’m very supportive. I think it’s great. It’s exciting. Another great venue here in the South of the Fraser.”

Woodward also noted the Langley Events Centre is not dependent on the Giants, pointing to the venue’s wider roster of sports and community tenants.

The venue was built in 2009, and the Giants did not call this their home ice until starting in the 2016/2017 season, when they relocated from the Pacific Coliseum at the PNE fairgrounds after a decade and a half presence in Vancouver. It is also currently home to the Trinity Western Spartans, BCJALL’s Langley Thunder, and CEBL’s Vancouver Bandits, which first began using the venue for basketball in 2022. Besides sports uses, it also hosts concerts and community events.

Since 2025, after being without an anchor tenant for a decade, the Pacific Coliseum has served as the home ice of the PWHL’s Vancouver Goldeneyes.

Major expansion of Langley Events Centre with more community rinks approaching completion

In recent years, he added, the Giants have generally drawn more modest crowds.

The Giants had an average attendance of 5,169 in 2015/2016, which was their final season at the Pacific Coliseum. This was down from their peak average attendance of 8,760 spectators in the 2006/2007 season. During the team’s inaugural season at Langley Events Centre in 2016/2017, the average attendance further fell to 3,848, with the average attendance during the subsequent years before the pandemic being consistently half of what the team could attract during their final years at Pacific Coliseum. Over the past three seasons after the pandemic — 2023/2024, 2024/2025, and 2025/2026, which was the team’s 25th anniversary season — the Giants averaged about 3,700 for each season at Langley Events Centre.

Each regular season, the Giants play 34 home games, with Woodward also painting a picture of a minimal revenue impact if the team does depart from the venue.

Just to the south of the arena complex is the 2023-built Willoughby Stadium at Langley Events Centre, which is a 6,600-seat soccer stadium for the CPL’s Vancouver FC.

Daily Hive Urbanized has also reached out to the Giants for comment.

At the same time, Woodward said the Township is currently making major investments in expanding Langley Events Centre’s general community and recreational spaces, benefitting minor hockey leagues and other sports clubs. The $149-million expansion of the complex is now approaching full completion, providing five additional rinks in a stacked configuration — including three ice rinks (including one with about 1,000 seats, and two with about 200 seats each) and two multifunctional dry rinks including ball hockey and lacrosse. This will bring the complex to a total of seven rinks, including the existing major spectator arena and single dry rink, along with the existing 2,200-seat triple gymnasium, 1,000-seat double gymnasium, and field house.

This past spring, the Giants’ existing home ice, the spectator arena of Langley Events Centre, received a new replacement centre-hung, four-sided video screen, with this Daktronics equipment being far larger than the previous screens.

“Surrey does not need a monument to Brenda Locke’s ego,” says Locke’s opponents

Woodward also asserted that Surrey’s arena concept remains at an early political stage, and he is not treating the Giants’ departure as certain until the proposed project is visibly under construction.

“I want to reiterate just to, you know, these are election announcements. And so I know that a number of Brenda Locke’s opponents are already heavily opposed to the proposal,” Woodward told Daily Hive Urbanized.

Surrey Mayor Locke first announced her arena vision in 2024, which led to preliminary planning and feasibility work between 2024 and 2025 and the launch of a bidding process in early 2026. This led to the selection of the Giants as the development partner and anchor tenant.

Opposition city councillors and challengers to Locke in the October 2026 civic election have criticized the arena project over its costs and potential risks to Surrey’s municipal government. They have also questioned whether it should be prioritized over broader investments in general community and recreational facilities, given the highly apparent demand from Surrey’s rapidly growing population.

In addition to the arena, the 5.1-acre Surrey City Centre site for the mixed-use development will entail three towers, containing a luxury hotel, conference space, residential uses, office space, retail/restaurant space, and a major public plaza. A consultant for the City of Surrey also suggested it could see additional high-density development, convention space, and potential consideration for a casino.

The arena component alone is estimated to carry a cost of $360 million, with the City’s 2026-2030 capital plan committing $200 million in direct public funding.

In addition to being the new home ice of the Giants, the arena is intended to be a venue for concerts, trade shows, and community events.

As well, the development is no longer eyed for the City-owned BC Lions training facility. Instead, just two blocks to the south, the City will acquire Wesgroup Properties’ Civic District development site — the former Safeway grocery store property at 10355 King George Blvd. — in an acquisition that involves trading $116.6 million worth of City-owned industrial and commercial properties to the developer. The developer’s Surrey City Centre site is also assessed at $116.6 million, making this a cashless land swap transaction.

“The mayor’s deal is completely one-sided with our city’s taxpayers providing the land and paying for the proposed arena,” said Linda Annis, a sitting Surrey city councillor and the Surrey First party’s mayoral candidate, after Tuesday’s announcement.

Annis also suggested that the estimated $360-million construction cost appears to be conservative, given the current market challenges for construction and inflationary environment.

“If the private sector genuinely believes this project is a good idea and financially viable, why are they not prepared to step up and be an investor and financial partner? Instead, the mayor is throwing in city land and putting our taxpayers on the hook for 100 per cent of the project, whatever the cost ends up being,” she said.

“The fact that Brenda Locke’s arena is funded completely by taxpayers, with no real contribution from the private sector, tells you the project’s business case is risky and highly questionable… I’m not surprised that the Giants are solidly behind this deal. It’s a great deal for them and it is only possible because the mayor is putting Surrey taxpayers on the hook. If this project could produce a viable financial model the private sector would be rushing to build it and operate it.”

Annis asserted that the arena project would be worth considering in a scenario where the City provides the land and the private sector is responsible for all costs for arena construction and operations.

In a statement that echoed similar concerns, the Surrey Now party says Locke’s plan amounts to “Surrey arena envy,” asserting that “this is not city-building. This is political vanity paid for by working families. Surrey does not need a monument to Brenda Locke’s ego. Surrey needs a mayor who can negotiate, who can build, and who can bring home real benefits before spending hundreds of millions on a risky arena project.”

“If this arena was such a brilliant business case, private investors would be lining up to pay for it. If the market truly believed this project would generate real returns, taxpayers would not be carrying the risk. Instead, Surrey residents are being asked to put up the land, absorb the financial danger, and trust City Hall when it says everything will work out.”

But the arena project has the clear backing of the business community, with the Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade highlighting that the project will provide Surrey with a major economic engine, improve the city’s business competitiveness, and provide a further major catalyst for growing Surrey City Centre, including an anchor for a vibrant entertainment district.

“This project is about much more than an arena — it is an investment in Surrey’s economic future and quality of life,” said Indra Bhan, Chief Operating Officer of the Surrey & White Rock Board of Trade.

“World-class cities need world-class amenities. Investments like this strengthen our ability to attract new businesses, retain and attract talent, and create the vibrant, dynamic community that people want to live, work, and invest in.”

You might also like:
• How the City of Surrey's $116.6-million land swap with Wesgroup Properties will secure the Vancouver Giants arena site
• New renderings of the Vancouver Giants arena in Surrey City Centre
• Vancouver Giants moving to new $360-million, 10,000-seat arena in Surrey City Centre
• Langley Events Centre undergoing five-arena expansion in stacked building
• City of Surrey identifies four potential sites to build Canada Soccer's 40+ acre National Training Centre
• Vancouver City Council could decide on Major League Baseball expansion team proponent this July
• Chip Wilson among 147 names that support idea of Vancouver MLB expansion team