Arthur Griffiths

Arthur Griffiths is a former owner of the Vancouver Canucks and General Motors Place and is responsible for putting the Vancouver 2010 Olympic bid together. On May 20, 2008, he announced plans to run for the Liberal nomination for the Vancouver-West End provincial riding. [ [http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/story.html?id=5be55aa7-38a9-43e0-9ddc-75a86d9c4096 Ex-Canucks owner Griffiths eyes nomination in Liberal riding ] ] However, due to Lorne Mayencourt's subsequent resignation as MLA of the old Vancouver-Burrard riding in order to run in the 2008 Canadian federal election, Griffiths will also run in an upcoming byelection before the electoral boundaries change.

Hockey Family

Griffiths' is the son of Emily and Frank Griffiths. Taken from his Legends of Hockey official biography, "One of the most successful businessmen in the Pacific Northwest, Frank Griffiths brought plenty of hockey excitement to the Vancouver area. His passion for the game was rivalled only by his commitment to community endeavours. Griffiths earned the respect of his peers and was a highly visible member of the NHL administration." "Griffiths was lauded by many for being a generous and efficient owner who preferred to divert attention or credit towards his hockey team. He was elected to the Hockey Hall of Fame in 1993." [ [http://www.legendsofhockey.net:8080/LegendsOfHockey/jsp/LegendsMember.jsp?mem=b199303&type=Builder&page=bio&list=ByName#photo Legends of Hockey - The Legends - Honoured Builder - Griffiths, Frank - Biography ] ]

The Griffiths' family, including Arthur, were inducted into the British Columbia Hockey Hall of Fame in 1995 under the builder category. The induction noted "In addition to his duties as owner of the team, Arthur Griffiths was also actively involved at the league level as a member of the NHL's Marketing / Public Relations Committee." [ [http://www.bchhf.com/Inductees/griffiths.htm Main ] ]

On running the Canucks, Griffiths' is quoted, "It was a wonderful life experience that many people would give their right arm for and I'm blessed that I had it." [ [http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/sports/story.html?id=b4e646fb-32e8-489d-b2de-5a838158dc08 Canucks still Griffiths' team ] ]

GM Place

It was Griffiths who led the initiative to build GM Place. The original arena of the Canucks, the Pacific Coliseum, was owned by the Pacific National Exhibition. The old coliseum became unsuitable for the growing team, and as result Griffiths' financed the building of GM Place in 1995. He is also responsible for the formation of the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies. [Infotec, [http://www.infotecbsi.com/press/021506.html Infotec Business Systems] ]

2010 Olympics

Griffiths' was responsible for the first proposal of getting the 2010 Winter Olympics to Vancouver in February 1998. [Reception in honour of Canada being awarded the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, [http://www.ltgov.bc.ca/whatsnew/sp/sp_jul24_2003.htm Office of the Lieutenant-Governor of BC] ] He would help it to become the Canadian bid for the Olympics, seeing it through to being awarded in 2003. [VANCOUVER 2010 - ORIGINS, HISTORY AND OUR FUTURE, [http://www.tourismvancouver.com/media/news_releases_2003.php?id=14 Tourism Vancouver] ]

Canuck Place

From Canuck Place's official website, "Canuck Place is the first free-standing hospice for children in North America and its model of care has been used for many hospices..." "The goal of this specialized care, known as pediatric palliative care, is to enhance the comfort and quality of life for both the child and their family. It is achieved through the combination of active and compassionate therapies. Palliative care strives to support children and families by assisting them in fulfilling their physical, psychological, social and spiritual goals while remaining sensitive to personal, cultural and religious values, beliefs and practices." [www.canuckplace.org]

In 1991 Griffiths' was the owner of the Vancouver Canucks and controlled it's community service arm, the Canuck Foundation. In that year he met Brenda Eng and George Jarvis, who had the idea and passion to create a children's hospice in the lower mainland. With the support of the Canuck Foundation, and other prominent organizations, 4 years later Canuck Place opened its doors. [ [http://www.canuckplace.org/about/overview/the_early_years_history.htm The Early Years / History ] ]

Liberal Nomination in Vancouver-West End

On Tuesday, May 20, 2008, Griffiths' announced he was seeking the Liberal nomination for the newly created provincial constituency of Vancouver-West End. [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/05/20/bc-arthur-griffith-bcliberal-nomination.html Former Canucks owner to seek BC Liberal nomination ] ] The following day, The Province Newspaper endorsed Griffiths. [http://www.canada.com/theprovince/news/editorial/story.html?id=6894419d-629b-4b17-8a35-e93f3a87845f Good luck to Griffiths ] ] The Province, which has a heavy sports focus, is owned by the same parent company that bought out Frank Griffiths' Western International Communications.

On Thursday, June 18th, 2008, Griffiths' launched his campaign website, http://www.Griffiths09.com. The launch was held at an event at the Oasis restaurant in Vancouver, B.C. [ [http://www.griffiths09.com Arthur Griffiths for MLA - Home ] ]

Education

Griffiths graduated from BCIT in 1980 and soon joined his father in managing the Canucks.

Personal life

Griffiths is married and has five children.

References