New visitor centre proposed

Photo: Google Maps

"Queen's Drive" on SOEC campus

Travel Penticton met with city council on Tuesday to propose plans for a new visitor centre on the South Okanagan Events Centre campus.

The city’s tourism agency previously shared a temporary building with the B.C. Wine Info Centre in the SOEC parking lot, but with the Info Centre now in the new Cascades Casino, Travel Penticton will have vacate the facility by the end of this summer.

Travel Penticton is looking to build a $450,000 modular structure not far away from their current home, on the unused “Queen’s Drive” section of the SOEC parking area. Travel Penticton would contribute $200,000 and the city would own the building.

“The location we are in, in respect to visibility, is very good,” Travel Penticton Executive Director, Thom Tischuk told council. “Visitor centres tucked into downtown locations quite often don't do well.”

However, the same land Travel Penticton is eyeing for their visitor centre is also being considered for a new arena, according to councillor Max Picton. A feasibility study is underway exploring the possibility of a new ice rink on the SOEC campus, while separate studies examine the viability of Memorial and McLaren Arenas.

“I would be hesitant to see this go through until we get a recommendation from the (arena) task force,” Picton said. The task force's recommendations for the city's arenas are due out in July.

The delegation to council was caught off-guard by the news that the land was being mulled for a new arena, and asked to be looped into similar discussions in the future.

“It's kind of getting sad, when we are representing such an important part of Penticton's lifeblood, but we can't find a place to live,” Tischuk said, after speaking about a “band-aid” solution that would see them rent yet another temporary space elsewhere if the current proposal is delayed too much.

Council eventually referred the matter to staff, for further discussions between Travel Penticton and the city.