Arena Construction Likely in 2017
Posted on 5/9/2016
by Pete McIntyre
Local government will have a little extra to spend on the new arena at Kal Tire Place -- if it's needed.
Doug Ross, City of Vernon Recreation Services Director, says they have an agreement with the Regional District of North Okanagan to provide a minimum standard of building with 400 seats -- with a fixed budget of 13 million dollars.
"We actually have more than that available to us, because if you took the referendum into consideration, the money we had in the Civic Arena reserve fund, and the $25,000 we got from Minor Hockey, we actually have closer to $13.8 million, but we are going forward with a $13 million budget right now," Ross tells Kiss FM.
Ross says testing of the soil will be the first process for the site -- where holes will be drilled into the parking lot -- but no dates have been set for that by MQN Architects which is overseeing the project..
He says the Vernon Farmer's Market will move to the north part of the parking lot, when that is taking place.
"They've chosen to stay in their current location until we start work on the parking lot. Once that's underway, they've decided they are going to move further north in the parking lot and take up the new location," says Ross.
Ross says there's a lot of steps before construction of the second arena will start.
"What we're into now is the design phase, which will probably take 8 to 9 months. We're hoping we will be looking for a contractor sometime around the beginning of the new year."
The target for completing the facility is the fall of 2018.
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