Hockey fans and 100 Mile House Wranglers Junior B Hockey Club ticket holders who may have heard the new arena seats are delayed will be happy to know they won't need to sit on the bare concrete.
After the bleacher boards were recently pulled off at the South Cariboo Rec. Centre, concerns arose when delivery of the new seats, which are being shipped from China, fell behind schedule.
Canlan Ice Sports general manager Josh Dickerson says the boards are being reinstalled before the Wranglers Main Camp starts Aug. 18.
They will also be in place for a Junior A game on Aug. 28 and the Wranglers lone home exhibition game on Sept. 11.
The seats will be installed the week and will be in place for the Wranglers' home opener on Sept. 21, Dickerson says.
"The benches will be back in until Sept. 16, and from then on we should have the seats."
The seats are a large investment for the Cariboo Regional District [CRD] to put into the arena, he explains, so they all wanted to make sure they were right, which delayed ordering.
More funding was required to purchase them than originally budgeted, so Dickerson says he had to go before the CRD directors in May to request more money.
"It's very disappointing on our end because we wanted them in and ready to go ... but it's a $70,000 investment.
“We don't want to just say, 'oh, we've got to get them ordered so they're here right away.' We want to make sure the seat is what we want, and the quality of the seat is there."
“Then, there was a wait for shop drawings from the architect, which went back to the board for approval just before the seats were ordered in late June.”
There are two colours on order, yellow for the premium centre ice seats, and blue for the remaining seats, he explains.
"For season ticket holders, which start on Sept. 21, we should have the seats in place ... with the proper colouring for the tickets [and numbered for ticket sales].
"It is delayed two-and-a-half weeks because originally, the game plan was to try to have them in by Aug. 28 for the first exhibition game ... I said I'd try to get them in before that."
Wranglers Club president Tom Bachynski says it is "very unfortunate" the stadium chairs won't be in when originally expected.
"It seemed like there was ample lead time. With the new install promise date, the chairs will be in and ready to go for our season opener Sept. 21, and that's what matters to us.
The Wranglers have sold season and Founders Club tickets based on seats being there, he adds.
"Prior to the season start, all our events will be festival seating."
Dickerson says he is confident the seats will arrive by the new due date, as he has a firm commitment from the "reputable" supplier in Vancouver, which was not responsible for any previous delay.
"It is just a matter of timing. They come from China, so it takes a bit of time to get them here."
On Aug. 9 the supplier reconfirmed the Sept. 16 delivery, but if they arrive before that, Dickerson adds its installers will be on site earlier.
The Canlan manager notes the concrete was temporarily exposed because the benches needed to be prepped for the seats, and it took a week or two to do that, a timeline that wasn't feasible in September.
The reattached benches will be easily removable, he explains, but the wood will cover up the concrete until the seats arrive.
"It is unfortunate that [the new seats] can't be here before the exhibition games ... but I hope people can understand that once the seats are in, how nice they will be."