The Canada Winter Games is two weeks away from taking over Prince George, so civic and other downtown facilities are preparing to undergo facelifts for the influx of athletes and other visitors.
Most notably altering their operations will be the downtown branch of the Prince George Public Library, which will lose the entire top floor to public access from Feb. 10 to March 2 when it's converted into the athletes' lounge.
"We recognize there's going to be some changes to services, but it's only for a couple of weeks," said library spokesperson Andrea Palmer.
The SkyLab computers, DVDs and high-circulating new releases will be brought down from the second floor into the main level's Keith Gordon Room.
Some more shuffling of the main level in front of the check-out desk will also be done to add more space for materials and there will also more room for holds behind the desk.
"My suspicion is that during Games time people may have concerns about parking and access as well as knowing that they can't come in and browse upstairs - that's definitely going to be a challenge for some people who like to come in and pick out their books," said Palmer. "So we anticipate there will be a lot more online browsing and people will just be able to place holds and come pick them up at their leisure, either from the Nechako branch where parking will not be problem, or downtown where it may get busy."
Those who come in for something specific will be able to access material not getting moved downstairs via library runners who will go up and retrieve them.
Upstairs, Games organizers are facilitating transforming the vacated Bob Harkins space into a hangout for athletes with couches, gaming systems, TVs to watch movies and live streams of Games events.
"It's going to be a great area for kids to chill out and relax and get to know each other," said Alyson Gourley-Cramer, communications and community relations manager for 2015 Games, noting there will be a chance for inter-team bonding as well as networking across sporting and provincial lines. "It's so neat for them because they may compete against each other on a national scale - for example, the biathletes from B.C. may already know the biathletes from Newfoundland - so for some it's their chance to do some bonding with the entire Team B.C."
There may be some disruption to library services downtown on Feb. 8 as things begin to get moved around, but Palmer said most of the heavy lifting should be done on Feb. 9 when the library is closed for the Family Day holiday.
The library is also using the closure and the Games-related activity to experiment with a pop-up branch at Pine Centre Mall.
From Feb. 10-28, library resources and activities will be available in a mall storefront between 10 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., Monday to Saturday. This is where programs such as Storytimes, Double-Digits Drop In, drop-in gaming and Dr. Tech classes will be held as well as hosting a selection of paperbacks and a book drop. A full schedule of events is available online at www.pgpl.ca and in hard copy at library branches.
"The Prince George Public Library has long been arguing for having a third branch in Prince George," said Palmer. "It's a great way of being able to test the waters."
The pop-up branch is also an acknowledgment that not everyone is able to attend Games-specific activities, but requires accessible, free programming during the two-week spring break, said Palmer.
Some other public facilities will be closed for Games use, such as the Aquatic Centre between Feb. 19 and March 2, and public skates at the Coliseum and Elksentre will be canceled from Feb. 9 to March 3. The Four Seasons Pool will be offering extended hours Feb. 19 to March 2, but parking will be a challenge, as the adjacent parking lot will be taken up by what will be known as the Festival Live site, featuring sponsor tents, booths and food truck.
The newly renovated and renamed Canada Games Plaza outside the Civic Centre will be abuzz between noon and 9 p.m. daily with the main stage and broadcasts of Canada Games TV - the behind-the-scenes news magazine show - at 5 p.m. (and again at 5:30 p.m. en francais).
However the Civic Centre itself will not be open to the public as it will be the athletes' cafeteria (main floor) and medical centre (upper level).
Five downtown hotels are also undergoing dramatic changes for the event, as the Ramada, Coast Inn of the North, Travelodge Goldcap, Days Inn and Econolodge are turned into the athletes' village.
"The fit out will take approximately three to four days," said Gourley-Cramer. During those days, teams of four people will empty the room and refurnish it with various configurations of bunk and single beds originally used at the 2010 Winter Olympics and again at the 2011 Western Summer Games in Kamloops.
Once the Games torch is extinguished, volunteers will have two days to get the rooms back to normal.
The city's Rotary clubs and Canfor have already come on board but the host society is still looking for volunteers willing to help out with the process. Those interested can find more information at canadagames2015.ca/volunteers
"It will be pretty incredible," Gourley-Cramer said of the transformation, adding it's not just the athletes' lounge and village that will be getting new looks.
The media centre in the Wood Innovation and Design Centre, venues and technical and results rooms are all going to have different dressings.
"The transition from the venues that people know to how it will change with the pageantry, furniture and fixtures will be incredible," Gourley-Cramer said.
ROAD CLOSURES
Some of the areas where parking will be restricted are on Dominion Street between Patricia Boulevard and Sixth Avenue, along Ninth Avenue between Victoria and Brunswick Streets, along Seventh Avenue between Victoria and Brunswick Streets and between Canada Games Way and Dominion Street.
Road closures will include all of Canada Games Way between Brunswick Street and Seventh Avenue and Patricia Boulevard behind the Coliseum. There will also be a handful of parking lots co-opted for Games-only use.
