by Wayne Moore - Castanet Oct 13, 2010 / 5:00 am
Barely three years old and already West Kelowna's new arena is described as woefully inadequate. Royal LePage Place, which opened to the public in August of 2007, will require nearly $900,000 to allow it to accommodate more than just minor and junior hockey, ringette and figure skating events.
In a report prepared for council, staff indicated eight improvements which would be required.
These include:
Concession/Lobby Expansion - $350,000
Meeting Room Space - $100,000
Media Gondola Upgrades - $75,000
Architectural Designs - $25,000
Wireless Internet - $30,000
Electrical Upgrades - $100,000
Air Conditioning - $75,000
Parking Lot Upgrade - $125,000
The largest expenditure came in the form of concession and concession lobby upgrades and expansion.
The report went on to say the concession was too small, had only one service window while the surrounding lobby was too small to handle a large line-up. It was suggested the concession expand into the courtyard or out the back of the arena, while also considering a link to the Jim Lind Arena allowing one concession to handle both facilities. The upgrades would be needed to allow the Royal LePage Place to become an efficient event centre which could potentially host five to eight major events throughout the year. Events could include everything from from civic events, home shows and trade shows to swap meets, concerts, circuses and car shows. At present, both RLP and the adjacent Jim Lind Arena are being utilized to 82% capacity.
Many on council were not willing to spend money to upgrade a facility for future events which may, or may not take place. "We would spend a million dollars to host some event that may or may not happen. That's a ridiculous idea," says Councillor, Duane Ophus. "Whether it's $880,000 in terms of upgrades or $500,000 or $2 million to change the thing to be able to host a number of other events is not reasonable or practical. Let's get it paid off and let's see how things go." Ophus says what the community really needs is another ice sheet. "I really hate to say this but we need an ice sheet that's an ice sheet. Then you can take Royal LePage Place back, make some upgrades and consider turning it into more of an events centre." The report also suggested that some user groups may have to be displaced in order to bring an event in, something Councillor Gord Milsom was unable to accept. "If we can get five or eight large events great, but I'm not in favour of bumping existing users. That's our young people who have hockey games and ringette games with teams from far away distances," says Milsom. "I think we have to respect our current users. Do what we can to generate income but let's not forget about quality of life with these types of facilities."
Councillor Rosalind Neis on the other hand, believes that the arena should be used for the greater good of the community, and if it means bumping the odd group for a large event from time to time, she has no problem with that. Administration Director, Marnie Manders, says current contracts with user groups include a 30 day clause which means users can be bumped for events booked more than 30 days in advance. Council agreed to allow staff the opportunity to work with Tourism Kelowna and the Business Development Officer to try and attract up to eight large events per year with limited impact to user groups.
In a report prepared for council, staff indicated eight improvements which would be required.
These include:
The largest expenditure came in the form of concession and concession lobby upgrades and expansion.
The report went on to say the concession was too small, had only one service window while the surrounding lobby was too small to handle a large line-up. It was suggested the concession expand into the courtyard or out the back of the arena, while also considering a link to the Jim Lind Arena allowing one concession to handle both facilities. The upgrades would be needed to allow the Royal LePage Place to become an efficient event centre which could potentially host five to eight major events throughout the year. Events could include everything from from civic events, home shows and trade shows to swap meets, concerts, circuses and car shows. At present, both RLP and the adjacent Jim Lind Arena are being utilized to 82% capacity.
Many on council were not willing to spend money to upgrade a facility for future events which may, or may not take place. "We would spend a million dollars to host some event that may or may not happen. That's a ridiculous idea," says Councillor, Duane Ophus. "Whether it's $880,000 in terms of upgrades or $500,000 or $2 million to change the thing to be able to host a number of other events is not reasonable or practical. Let's get it paid off and let's see how things go." Ophus says what the community really needs is another ice sheet. "I really hate to say this but we need an ice sheet that's an ice sheet. Then you can take Royal LePage Place back, make some upgrades and consider turning it into more of an events centre." The report also suggested that some user groups may have to be displaced in order to bring an event in, something Councillor Gord Milsom was unable to accept. "If we can get five or eight large events great, but I'm not in favour of bumping existing users. That's our young people who have hockey games and ringette games with teams from far away distances," says Milsom. "I think we have to respect our current users. Do what we can to generate income but let's not forget about quality of life with these types of facilities."
Councillor Rosalind Neis on the other hand, believes that the arena should be used for the greater good of the community, and if it means bumping the odd group for a large event from time to time, she has no problem with that. Administration Director, Marnie Manders, says current contracts with user groups include a 30 day clause which means users can be bumped for events booked more than 30 days in advance. Council agreed to allow staff the opportunity to work with Tourism Kelowna and the Business Development Officer to try and attract up to eight large events per year with limited impact to user groups.
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