With the sale of the West Kelowna Warriors to North Delta pending, a group from West Kelowna is hoping to see a local team in Royal LePage Place once again.
Wednesday afternoon, Mayor Doug Findlater is meeting with some people who are looking to join forces to own a team.
"There is a group I'm meeting with that's proposing to put together more of a community team, along the lines of what the Merritt Centennials are, who are in the same league (BCHL)," he said.
"That's where you've got a number of shareholders who put money into it, and they can operate it a little bit differently, maybe with a different business plan."
But Findlater was clear about the chances of the city going after an ownership stake.
"The city will not be an investor in a hockey team, I just want to assure everybody on that. We can't subsidize a business, and nor should we, even the most ardent Warriors fans understand that," he said.
"But there may be things we can do to help around the edges and facilitate it, because it does have economic value, and the value of community pride. So we'll see what we can do."
Findlater says that while keeping a team at the Junior A level would be first choice, there's also been local interest in attracting a Junior B franchise.
There are currently four Junior B teams in the Okanagan, playing out of the 20-team KIJHL in Armstrong, Kelowna, Summerland, and Osoyoos.