Vees throw support behind event centre (PENTICTON)

By WOLF DEPNERNews Staff Reporter Sep 08 2006 Full ARTICLE AT http://www.pentictonwesternnews.com/
Mayor Jake Kimberley said Wednesday before a forum organized by the Coalition for an Affordable Public Events Centre that announced casino funding for the facility — $40 million over 13 years — cannot be used for anything else. “It is specific for this project,” he said. Director of corporate services Jack Kler said the project had to meet very specific criteria to qualify for the funding. They include among others attracting more gamblers, provincial significance and future economic benefits such as an increased number of conventions and sport events. B.C. Lottery Corporation would retain that money if the referendum failed, he said. While the city could submit a revised bid for that money in the future in case the referendum fails, Kler did not sound optimistic that the city would be able to get that money again. If a revised bid does not have the same drivers, the provincial government may not approve, he said. The city also stands to lose a provincial grant worth $9.7 million if the referendum fails. Coalition spokesperson James Ludvigson meanwhile believes that Giffels would still be willing to work with the city on a scaled-down version of the proposed centre even if the referendum failed. “We can have an event centre for considerably less,” he said, pointing to recent developments around the 2010 Winter Olympics.Organizers announced that the games would use NHL-sized rinks rather than Olympic-sized rinks to save $10 million. Plans for the SOEC include an Olympic-sized and an NHL-sized rink. The city can save millions and recreational space if it ditched this proposal, Ludvigson said. Other members of the coalition also questioned the city’s proposal. Gerry Gilligan, a retired insurance underwriter, said the city is “misleading” the public by stating it stands to receive $40 million in casino funding. Only $30.5 million of that money is actually new money, he said. Nor is that money guaranteed, he said. “It is subject to a red-hot economy,” he said. Should the economy slump, so will casino revenues, he predicted. A slumping economy could also affect the city’s convention business, Ludvigson said, pointing to geopolitical uncertainties that could discourage convention business from the United States. Kler confirmed that the city was due to receive a portion of the $40 million — $9.5 million — anyway. But the city will still have casino money left over for other projects, he said. He also confirmed that the casino funding is not guaranteed. But the projected revenue figures based on six to seven years of experience are “reasonable,” he said. Kler said in an earlier interview that the city is likely to receive more casino money than expected.