Groundbreaking ceremony held for long-proposed Kamloops Centre for the Arts

Arts centre breaks ground

Photo: Castanet

More than 100 people showed up on Wednesday, Nov. 26, for a groundbreaking ceremony for the Kamloops Centre for the Arts, a $211-million project at the corner of Fourth Avenue and Seymour Street.

Shovels hit dirt on Wednesday afternoon near the corner of St. Paul Street and Fourth Avenue, marking the ceremonial start of construction on a $211-million performing arts centre.

"It’s an exciting time for the City of Kamloops,” said Coun. Kelly Hall, chair of the city’s Build Kamloops committee, which is behind the project.

"This is more than a construction project — it’s a realization of a dream nurtured by countless hands and hearts over decades.”

More than 100 people gathered for Wednesday afternoon's groundbreaking ceremony at 393 Seymour St., the former site of the Kamloops Daily News building. The event follows 18 months of intensive planning and design, according to the city.

"The Kamloops Centre for the Arts will be a hub for creativity and connection,” said Brenda Aynsley, chair of the Kamloops Centre for the Arts Society.

"It’s going to provide a stage for local performers, a gathering place for our residents and a venue that attracts performers and visitors from near and far.”

Construction fencing was set up surrounding the city-owned property on Monday.

Preliminary site works are expected to follow into the winter, and deep excavation will start in the spring, with foundations installed by the end of 2026. Construction is expected to take three and a half years, with opening anticipated in 2029.

The budget for the performing arts centre now sits at $211 million, with $150.5 million specifically earmarked for facility construction. The city has said the increase won’t have any additional impact on taxation — and it’s possible some of this total might not need to be spent, given part of the budget has been set aside for risk contingency.

The city said a performing arts centre has been identified in strategic plans for nearly two decades, and was placed as the top priority project in the 2019 Recreation Master Plan.

The building is planned to include two theatres, including a 1,100 seat venue and a 450-seat venue, a feature lobby, cafe and gallery, a loading dock and rehearsal halls, green rooms and dressing rooms, offices and storage spaces.

The site will also include a two-level underground parkade with a total of 158 parking spaces — slightly more than what was proposed in the summer of 2024.

The Kamloops Centre for the Arts will be the city’s first new theatre since the Sagebrush Theatre opened in 1978.