This is part three of a series exploring a Civic Core Plan created by a group of concerned citizens of Prince George who understand the importance of incorporating the vision of user groups to create a multi-use facility in the heart of the city that will not only improve quality of life but also establish a strong path to economic growth.
Meeting the needs of the City of Prince George and its community members while revitalizing the downtown core will mean built-in economic success with a Civic Core Plan, one that sees the arts and sports communities come together in a convention centre complex and entertainment hub.
A citizen group was formed when the City of Prince George asked for proposals from consultants to create a Civic Core Plan in 2022.
As noted in Part 1, that citizen group included Noreen Rustad, longtime philanthropist and community advocate; Les Waldie, former vice president of human resources at a lumber mill, active in volunteerism and who once chaired a committee to build the cancer lodge; Margaret Jones-Bricker, who helped raise $4.5 million to build the cancer lodge; Steve Henderson of Spectra Energy, now retired, well connected to municipalities around the province and chair of Prince George Hospice Society; Eli Klasner, local arts leader and current executive director of the Community Arts Council of Prince George & District, and Cameron Stolz, longtime Prince George local business owner, former councillor and new owner of the Prince George Citizen.
The notice of the engagement of an outside consulting firm prompted the citizen group to meet with a broad range of interested organizations in advance of the official consultation, with the intent to develop a united vision for the redevelopment of the Civic Plaza, in essence ‘local people for a local solution’. The approach was that any redevelopment should include a focus on economic development for the City of Prince George.
The first step in the work of the citizen group was to identify a high-level view of primary partners that would be impacted and involved in any redevelopment of the Civic Plaza. The groups included Community Arts Council of Prince George & District, Downtown Prince George, Lheidli T’enneh First Nation, Miracle Theatre, Prince George Airport Authority, Prince George Chamber of Commerce, Prince George Spruce Kings, Prince George Symphony Orchestra, Russell Productions, Theatre Northwest, Tourism Prince George.
There are several groups that are on the schedule of regular users of the Kopar Memorial Arena that include Northern B.C. Centre for Skating, Prince George Figure Skating Club, Prince George Minor Hockey Association, Prince George Minor Lacrosse, Prince George Mohawk Oldtimers, Prince George Ringette Association, Prince George Senior Lacrosse, School District 57 schools.
“A couple of years ago now, Eli (Klasner) reached out to our organization about getting together to brainstorm some ideas about a replacement for our buildings, several of the community’s buildings including Kopar Memorial Arena and the Community Arts Council and others, are reaching end of life and are in dire need of replacement,” said Mike Hawes, Spruce Kings general manager.
“So as a group of concerned citizens and stakeholders in the community we thought it would be important to get together and all get on one page and brainstorm some ideas on how we could approach the city and have some open dialogue with them on the eventual replacement of these facilities.”
The Civic Core Plan would include a multi-use facility that accommodates not only the Spruce Kings and the sporting community but also the arts community, Hawes emphasized.
“Specific to us, the (Kopar) facility is at the end of life and it’s been communicated to us through the city that any major kind of malfunction or repair that’s required in the building might not be done, meaning that at any point we could all of a sudden not have a building to play in," he said. "Hopefully it never gets to that point. The staff that work in the building and the city itself do a great job of maintaining it but it is an old building that was built in 1958 and is in need of replacement.”
For the Spruce Kings to get a new arena there would be many economic benefits.
“The league we play in, the British Columbia Hockey League, is ever-evolving,” Hawes said. “We have added five teams to the league, all in Alberta. The cost of operating a team and being able to stay viable has grown exponentially here in the last several years because of the cost of road trips, equipment, and everything else to run a team, has gone through the roof, as we know, and has a lot to do with inflation. We certainly do need a new facility so that we can hopefully find a way to generate more revenue through to help us survive and help us keep operating.”
There are dozens of groups that use the arena, Hawes added.
“The arena is a huge asset to the community and to have it located in the downtown would be crucial, as well, in my opinion,” he said.
“I can’t emphasize enough that the Spruce Kings have been around since 1972 and we thrive in the community. We survive off the support of our Show Home Lotteries. The support of the community and the region for us with those lotteries has been huge and it does provide the majority of our operating costs. However we do have to find ways to generate other revenue through ticket sales, concessions and advertising in the building that all goes towards the things we need to keep up with what’s required within the British Columbia Hockey League.”
Under the umbrella of the Community Arts Council of Prince George & District at Studio 2880 there are several arts organizations in the facility that include Arts North Digital Media Centre, Community Arts Council Artist-in-Residence, Delgado Strings, the Northern Indigenous Arts Council. Prince George Fibre Arts Guild, Prince George Potters' Guild, Prince George Stitchery Guild, Prince George Symphony Orchestra administrative offices, Prince George Woodturner's Guild and the Studio 2880 Gallery and Gift Shop.
These user groups will all benefit from having a multi-use space in the downtown core of Prince George, the group points out.
“As a concerned long-time resident of Prince George I volunteered along with others to create a civic core plan,” said Rustad, a member of the citizens' group.
“This plan was made in conjunction with many groups, sports and arts alike, and the plan we formulated was endorsed by all the stakeholders who had input during the planning stages. This plan would revitalize our downtown at a time when it is desperately needed. The creation of a unique made-in-Prince-George civic facility would add economic value to our city as well as enhance the sports, arts and culture viability of our city. Now is the time to allocate the city properties freed up by the moving of the fire hall and the swimming pool to this project. Let us look ahead and create a lasting legacy for our community.”
