The City of Prince George hopes to present a draft plan for the renovated Kin 1 arena to by the public by early October.
The $15.8 million project is part of the city's commitment to host the 2015 Canada Winter Games. While a concept plan is already in place for the project, city community services director Colleen Van Mook said, what is needed now is the detailed design.
"We're meeting with stakeholder groups. That goes through a process so we can have something to share with the public in early October," Van Mook said. "We'll be tweaking the design to meet the needs of user groups and the public."
Once public feedback is received, the final detailed plan will be presented to city council for approval in December, Van Mook said.
Despite delays caused by council discussions of building a stand-alone arena, Van Mook said, she is optimistic the arena can be finished on time.
"We are very optimistic... we can begin construction by May, 2012," Van Mook said.
The renovated arena is expected to be complete by October, 2013.
Part of the planning process is to mitigate the lost ice time during the construction process, she added.
"If we were just to plot what we have in terms of total ice time, it will only mean a four per cent decrease in total ice time available," Van Mook said.
Van Mook said the city will work with user groups to maximize the use of the ice available, and will look at increasing the availability of CN Centre - even if it means hosting less concerts and other events in the arena.
No cost estimate for the lost ice time and decreased use of CN Centre was available as of press time.
The completed renovation will include a 200-foot by 100-foot Olympic ice surface, new roof, viewing area and improved washrooms and change rooms.
Prince George Recreational Hockey League president Al Hines, organizer of Build the Arena - a lobby opposing the renovation of Kin 1 in favour of building a new arena - could not be reached for comment as of press time.
