On Monday, the city will likely decide the future of Kin 1 arena and how to spend the bulk of infrastructure funding for the 2015 Canada Winter Games.
Al Hines is hoping the results of an online petition will convince council it's a better idea to build a new arena than it is to tear Kin 1 down and rebuild it.
Hines said more than 400 city residents have filled out the Build the Arena online form at www.recsms.com/buildthearena/form.cfm, which will be emailed to council. He's elated that a vast majority of those who responded are in favour of building a new rink.
"This is coming from all the arena groups so we're getting broad-based support from every avenue and a lot of families are responding," said Hines, the administrator of the Prince George Rec Hockey Association, which unveiled the poll Monday morning.
"We're getting support from ringette, lacrosse, roller hockey, figure skating and lots of support from the guys in the men's [hockey] league. Really it is more of a winter issue because that's when we have the shortages of ice time. We want to show there is a real desire in the population here to build another standalone arena."
In March, council decided to spend $35,000 to have a concept design created for a fourth arena. That project was handed to PBK Architects, the Vancouver-based firm that came up with plans for the revamped Kin 1. Hines anticipates council will be presented that report in advance of Monday's meeting.
The estimated cost of tearing down and rebuilding Kin 1 is $16.5 million. City staff have projected the cost of a new arena at $6.3 million above what it will cost to renovate Kin 1. That amount of money is needed to bring Kin 1 up to date, with new dressing rooms/washrooms and roof repairs the most pressing concerns.
"A few things change with building a standalone arena and the costs should be similar unless there's something we don't know about," said Hines. "There's no doubt, once you build a new arena, there are costs to operate it [estimated at $200,000 per year] and do we as a community feel it's important enough to absorb that cost?
"I knew back in November there was a desire for this and the frustrating thing was that people didn't take action, but the frustrating part for the people was they didn't know what to do to promote this initiative. What we've done is given them an avenue to have their voices heard at the level that this thing is going to be decided."
Four rinks or three, that is the question
Here what people who have responded to the Build the Arena petition think of proposed plans for improvements to the Kin Centre to be made prior to the 2015 Canada Winter Games:
"I am currently a full-time career figure skating coach with the Prince George Figure Skating Club. I am in full support of the building of an additional arena for many reasons. 1. The city is in need of another ice surface in order to accommodate the growing needs of all of the user groups. 2. In order to provide our young athletes with the chance to compete at the 2015 Canada Games, it makes absolutely no sense to remove an ice surface.... instead, an addition is necessary in order to support the athletic development of those who are already on track to be competitors at the Games four years from now. 3. Losing an ice surface for an entire season will impact not only user groups (less ice, less training time, less employment) but will also impact the city in terms of less visitors, less tournaments, less hotel and restaurant use by visiting teams.... fewer learning opportunities for coaches, athletes, referees. The economic impact will be devastating." -- Nicole Collins
"I feel a new rink would be a great asset to our community. As president of the Cariboo Amateur Hockey Association we seem to scramble for ice times at points during the season if we have unexpected cancellations due to unforeseen circumstances. With the growth of female hockey happening in our district we will be needing more icetimes. Hopefully our council will see these values and build a new rink that will be greatly used by all user groups." -- Keith Scott
"I encourage all members of city council to prioritize the construction of a new arena. Prince George Minor Hockey has been severally limited in our ability to host events. In a typical season, each PGMHA rep team will play approximately 50 out of their 60-game seasons away from Prince George. This is primarily due to a lack of ice. We have been forced to rent ice in 100 Mile House, Lac La Hache, Fraser Lake and other areas to be able to make up for the lack of ice in Prince George. The hotels, restaurants, gas stations, sports stores, in those areas are benefitting. Prince George business are missing out on because we cannot bring people to the city. The loss of Kin 1 during renovations will compound the problem. Build a new facility, and renovate Kin 1 at a later date. I support the new facility option, and encourage the mayor and all councillors to the same." -- Greg Pocock
