The Regional District of Central Kootenay has banned any kind of noisemakers at its two hockey arenas after a dispute left one man with serious injuries. Read More
The incident at Fruitvale’s Beaver Valley Arena left a fan with two crushed kneecaps and torn tendons in his arms. One man has since been arrested.
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The Regional District of Central Kootenay has banned any kind of noisemakers at its two hockey arenas after a dispute left one man with serious injuries.
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RDCK director Ali Grieve told Postmedia News that the decision was made at the district’s April 9 meeting after a 47-year-old Fruitvale man was allegedly pushed down the stairs in the Beaver Valley Arena at the end of a Junior A playoff game between the Beaver Valley Nitehawks and the Grand Forks Border Bruins.
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She said a Grand Forks fan was asked several times to stop blowing a homemade air horn at the 600-seat arena but had refused.
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“The game was over and the victim asked him to stop using the air horn,” Grieve said. “The victim was then (allegedly) pushed down the stairs. Both of his kneecaps were crushed, the tendons were torn from his arm, he was knocked unconscious and he had a seizure. The alleged perpetrator and his wife then ran away from the arena and, a few days ago, he finally turned himself in.”
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Two days after the March 18 game, the Grand Forks RCMP released photos of a suspect taken at the arena.
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“The dispute between the Fruitvale man and another man from Grand Forks began over the use of an air horn,” the RCMP said at the time.
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“The matter escalated into a physical fight between the men. The Fruitvale man was allegedly violently thrown to the ground and sustained serious injuries as a result.” He was transported to hospital in serious condition.
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According to the Castlegar Sun, a 57-year-old man turned himself in at the Trail RCMP detachment on April 8 and was arrested and released. He has not been charged, but must appear again in court in June.
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Grieve said the victim is self employed and supports a family.
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“He had contracts lined up he can no longer do. He has two full leg braces from ankle to thigh, and one of his legs might need a second surgery,” she said. “He goes to all the games with his family.”
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The noisemaker ban will apply to anything, including fans banging coffee cups on railings, and take effect at the start of the 2025/2026 season.
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“Noisemakers have a been a source of conflict for years at arenas and removing that conflict will make it safer for everyone,” Grieve said.
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