Quesnel Residents Ponder New Multi-Centre

By Michelle Cyr-Whiting

Quesnel Multi-Centre Concept Drawing              --photo used with permission

The old ice arena in Quesnel is approximately 50-years old and, with maintenance costs rising, the City and the Cariboo Regional District have commissioned a joint task force to examine the public appetite for a new multi-purpose events centre.

The task force first met back in the fall of last year to develop a "concept" for the centre and is now in the process of holding public meetings on a proposed complex that would include a 2,000-seat climate-controlled arena, a 450-seat theatre, and meeting and event space for up to 250 people. 

Task Force Co-Chair, City Councillor Ron Craigmyle, says feedback at the public meetings has been decidedly mixed.  He says some people don't want to see their tax bills rise to pay for a facility they wouldn't use, while others feel it would be good for families, recreation and a source of community pride.

He says the proposed downtown location - at the corner of Barlow Avenue and Vaughan Street - prompts parking concerns, as well.  A parking lot is proposed for an adjacent lot. (For more information on the proposal, click here)

As for just how much the project would cost.  Craigmyle says, "It's always scary when you put numbers out there when it's a little bit early."  He says, "We have a rough price, which I'm reluctant to mention, but it's between $24- and $28-million dollars at the present time."  The Task Force Co-Chair admits escalating construction costs could push that figure even higher.

Two more public meetings are scheduled before the end of the month.  Craigmyle says he expects the Multi-Centre proposal will go to a referendum, involving city residents and CRD residents, either by the end of the year or early in 2008.

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