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Penticton  

Twin rink plan gets nod

Penticton city council voted unanimously Tuesday take the first steps in pursuing a new twin ice surface.

Council directed staff to craft an application for a $6 million federal infrastructure grant around the estimated $33.9 million project. The grant application is due at the end of the month. 

The costs associated also include making minor repairs to Memorial and McLaren arenas to keep them operational until the new facility is complete. Once complete, Memorial would transition to a dry facility with upgrades good for at least a decade. The plan has estimated annual costs of $1.14 million.

While council unanimously chose to support the recommendation set forward by the Arena Task Force, they also raised some concerns regarding how the new arena will be financed.

"I think the reason the SOEC (South Okanagan Events Centre) got so much approval was because there was so many other funding options that came to the table," said Penticton Mayor Andrew Jakubeit.

Taxpayer dollars and casino revenues are two of the main options on the table to support the construction of the new arena.  

The future for Memorial may not entail a lot of hockey, but the Arena Task Force suggests renting it to lacrosse teams and pickleball users. One resident of Penticton raised concern regarding accessibility to rent out Memorial for tennis.

The future of McLaren is looking bleak, with the plan suggesting decommission. However, it’s still far too soon to say what that actually means.

"We haven't actually considered the future use of that facility," said Bregje Kozak, Penticton Manager of Facilities. "What we suggest is that we stay commissioning it as an arena, what happens after that I'm going to do a lot more exploration on the opportunities and desires of the community."

"It's reassuring that we have up until 2023 to be successful with the grant," Jakubeit said, touching on the length of time they would have to spend the money should they be awarded it.

The $6 million grant is the maximum amount that the city can apply for.

There is still a lot of work to be done, regarding financing and parking for the new arena, according the Jakubeit, who stressed the city is still quite some time from making a final decision and years away from construction



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