Building twin rink facility best solution, council told
Editor’s note: This is the seventh in a series of articles counting down the top 10 news stories of 2017, as voted by staff at the Penticton Herald. The top story will be revealed Dec. 29
The first step has been taken towards construction of a new twin-rinks arena in Penticton, following plenty of public consultation and work by the Arena Task Force.
In a 33-minute presentation to Penticton city council on April 4, Arena Task Force chairman Stewart Ladyman said that if Penticton were to lose one of its four ice surfaces, 80 hours of use per week would need to be relocated to the remaining three rinks. Council later agreed in principle to maintain four rinks, regardless of the committee’s findings
Ladyman reported both Memorial and McLaren arenas have outlived their life expectancies of 35 to 40 years; Memorial is 67 years old and McLaren is 45. In June, the task force, reported, however, that modernizing both Memorial and McLaren arenas would save $5 million versus the cost of building a new two-rink facility.
And a survey, based on 561 response forms filled out by residents, found 48 per cent of residents believed the two aging arenas should be refurbished, while 42 per cent thought they should be replaced with a new twin-rinks facility.
“There is definitely sentiment in the community to keep and preserve the history of Memorial Arena and that’s addressed in the options,” Mayor Andrew Jakubeit said at the time.
“That was one of the key points raised by the community. Nobody wants to make a final decision based solely on emotion, and I feel the task force did a very good job.”
After further debate, though, the task force suggested the city could get the most bang for its buck by converting Memorial to a dry-floor facility, decommissioning McLaren and building a new twin-rinks facility on the west side of the SOEC campus near Alberni Street
City council then voted unanimously July 25 to support that concept in principle and apply for a $6-million federal grant to help with the estimated $33.9-million cost of building the new barn and making minor repairs to Memorial and McLaren to keep them running until the twin rinks are ready.
The city is still awaiting word on its grant proposal before making any more decisions on the fate of the arenas.
BC Hockey has already expressed interest in relocating its offices from Victoria to the new facility.
“It would be a good location, good partnership, it would make good sense for the future of our game,” CEO Barry Petrachecnko said in July.
“Should that arise where we could establish an office within a rink here and establish a home base for BC Hockey, that’s an exciting thought,” he said.