Kamloops gun show organizers say event threatened after city withdraws full McArthur Island venue

KAMLOOPS — UPDATE: In an email, City of Kamloops Business Operations and Event Supervisor Sean Smith confirms the city had previously decided to keep the ice in the NHL-sized rink at McArthur Island through April.

However, Smith says the city is revisiting the impact of the decision and will make a final decision in the coming days.

EARLIER: Organizers of the annual Kamloops Gun and Antique Show and Sale say the future of their event is being put in danger by a lack of venue availability.

The Kamloops Target Sports Association bills the April event as the largest of its kind in Western Canada. Event Chairman Don Morphy says the show annually sells out all of its 500 vendor tables at the McArthur Island Sport and Event Centre.

About one-third of those tables are set up in the NHL-sized rink at McArthur Island, according to Morphy, and the City of Kamloops has told organizers that rink will not be available for the 2023 event.

Morphy says the city has told the organization the logistics surrounding the hosting of the Memorial Cup will push the gun show out of the venue.

Morphy the event must have access to all three McArthur Island surfaces on the fourth weekend of April, as planned, to remain viable. With the 2020 and 2021 shows cancelled due to COVID-19 restrictions, he says another cancellation would threaten the future of the event all together.

In a letter to the City of Kamloops dated Nov. 30, Morphy says the Memorial Cup rationale does not make sense, as that event will be held one month later than the gun show and at a different venue (Sandman Centre). Morphy notes a deposit for the McArthur Island venue was paid months ago and more than 50 per cent of the 500 tables have already been booked. He says should the city stick to its guns, the association will “consider all options at [its] disposal.”