$6M in upgrades are planned for the Westerner Park Centrium. (rdnewsNOW file photo)

By Sheldon Spackman

Supporting Economic Drivers

BUDGET: Council approves conditional funding for Centrium, airport upgrades

Nov 19, 2019 | 2:33 PM

With Red Deer set to host the 2021 World Junior Hockey Championships next year, Red Deer city council has offered capital funding support for upgrades and renovations needed at the Westerner Park Centrium.

During 2020 Capital Budget deliberations on Monday, council approved $3 million over the next three years for Centrium upgrades, subject to matching funds from Red Deer County.

Tara Lodewyk, Director of Planning Services for The City of Red Deer says the $6 million in planned renovations will help Westerner Park improve the visitor experience at the 1991-built Centrium, and capitalize on the strong momentum gained by hosting big events.

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“We know that with World Juniors (coming) they have to do some improvements to dressing rooms, as well as to their display capabilities on their LED screens to meet today’s media needs. So those will be some of the initial improvements that you’ll see in 2020,” she explains.

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“Some of the improvements that you would notice over the lifetime of the project would be improvements to the concourse, creating some standing room and gathering spaces on the concourse, painting, some new food cart locations, some different options for food, as well as updating the main scoreboard and updating the seating in the Centrium.”

Councillor Tanya Handley, also a Westerner Park board member, says the Centrium is a significant economic driver for the community and needs to be updated.

“Seating, washrooms and food are sort of the top things that feedback that we receive from the community, the Centrium is getting old and has served the community well for many, many years, and it’s just getting tired,” she explains.

“We need to make sure that we’re keeping up with our facilities so that we don’t get to a point where it’s too far gone and we end up doing major replacements instead of just continuing to maintain what we have. We need to keep that building up to par if we’re going to continue to attract large national and international events to Red Deer.”

Handley also noted the importance of their partnership with Red Deer County in helping make projects like these possible.

“The Centrium is absolutely an economic driver for the County and the City as well, and all of central Alberta,” she says. “Because when people come for large events at the Centrium, they stay in hotels, they eat out at restaurants and those things don’t necessarily know boundaries. So I think a partnership with the County is key in this in order for both municipalities to be able to afford the economic development that the Centrium allows.”

Also on Monday, council approved $1.58 million in capital funding for the Red Deer Regional Airport Authority to help with much-needed Runway 1230 improvements at YQF.

Lodewyk says that funding is also subject to matching funds being approved by Red Deer County.

“It is really for some infrastructure maintenance and to maintain the one runway that they have, where if there’s certain temperature conditions or wind conditions, they use that runway to land planes,” she explains. “So that runway is in dire need of repair. As well as there is some amount within there for equipment that does the maintenance to those runways.”

Lodewyk says the Red Deer Regional Airport is a joint partnership between the City and County that offers benefits for both municipalities.

“It is one of those regional economic development opportunities that we have to foster and grow within the region.”

Capital Budget deliberations wrap up today at Red Deer City Hall.