The City of Kamloops will be reopening the Brocklehurst Arena due to demand from residents for ice-time as the winter months approach.
City Council also voted to open the curling sheets at McArthur Island and four community halls – Heritage House, the Kamloops Yacht Club, Valleyview Hall, and the Hal Rogers Centre in Upper Sahali.
“We have 30 adult user groups who have confirmed that they would like ice for the fall of 2020 and into 2021. Ten have said, ‘No, thanks’ to the fall but remain on the bubble for 2021,” Recreation Supervisor Linda Stride said at Tuesday’s council meeting.
Recreation facilities have slowly reopened after things were closed in March because of COVID-19. Late last month, city council voted to reopen Valleyview Arena and the Westsyde Pool.
“We’ve been short sheets of ice for almost five, six years now,” Councillor Bill Sarai said. “Now with this COVID virus impeding us even more, we’re shutting down more, we’re putting more strain on people who need to get out and get their children out and get some normalcy in their lives.”
A pair of ice sheets at McArthur Island was opened for booking back in June. Memorial Arena is currently being used as a shelter by BC Housing, and the City is committed to that contract through October 31, 2020.
Stride said because of budget constraints the arenas will be open for 13 hours a day, down slightly from pre-COVID scheduling. The plan is to also book as many rentals as possible in keeping with all safety requirements that are needed.
The decision to open the Brocklehurst Arena comes at a cost of about $175,000 for six months, which will be offset by budget savings brought on by COVID-19 for the remainder of the year. It will cause an impact to the operating budget next year.
“We need to sometimes not always look at the dollar and cents,” Sarai added, noting support for reopening the Brock arena.
City council also approved the reopening of Sandman Centre ahead of a potential WHL season for the Kamloops Blazers. The city’s largest arena will open once the WHL and the Blazers’ requirements are known and acceptable to city staff.
“Our plan wouldn’t be looking at opening it unless we have confirmation from the Kamloops Blazers,” Stride added. “Today, we are asking to be able to open it but we are not opening it at the same time as we would open the Brock arena. We would wait util we have received for further clarity from the Blazers with regards to their WHL season.”
There was some discussion to delay voting on the Sandman Centre until such time more details and costs are known, but it was ultimately defeated in a vote.
“We have no idea what they are going to propose to us…We don’t really have a clue and I think we owe it to ourselves to look through what potential projections or budget impacts might be,” said Councillor Mike O’Reilly. “We’re voting on something we have no idea how much its going to cost us, I think we should have a chance to look through those financials first before we approve something.”
Councillor Dale Bass noted that if the Blazers return for a season, it will feel a little bit more like normal.
“We’re going to feel a little bit more like life is coming back, so I see that as having a value to the community that maybe isn’t quite as much as what we’re going to lose, but I just see something good to the community if they’re able to come back and we’re able to put them in there,” she added.
