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By Mel Rothenburger

ARMCHAIR MAYOR

ROTHENBURGER: What should Kamloops build as a really ‘iconic structure’

Feb 5, 2024 | 5:55 AM

TOURISM KAMLOOPS wants to build an “iconic structure” for Kamloops. It just doesn’t know what it will be yet. Or where it will go.

But the tourism agency wants to study it. It’s a little like the old Seinfeld episodes about creating a TV series about nothing.

According to Tourism Kamloops, an “iconic structure” would “enhance the city’s competitiveness in comparison to emerging attractions” in other areas. It would “attract external investments, thereby benefitting both residents and tourists.”

The very word “iconic” is overused these days, much like “unprecedented.” Something that’s iconic is supposed to be unique, famous, symbolic. Scoring tickets for a Taylor Swift concert is not iconic.

The Colosseum in Rome is iconic. So are the Taj Mahal and the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and the pyramids, and the Forbidden City in Beijing and — well, you get the picture. It could be argued that Toronto’s CN Tower is iconic, and maybe even Canada Place.

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So, obviously, it can’t be any old thing. And it should be big. Tourism Kamloops gives as examples the Sea-to-Sky Gondola in Squamish, the SkyWalk near Victoria and the suspension bridge in Golden. So what could we build in Kamloops that’s iconic? A big hockey stick or a giant curling rock would fit the Tournament Capital theme, but they’ve been done elsewhere.

In the past, there have been ideas for a canal system on the North Shore, a gondola up Mount Paul, and a series of massive sculptures on the old bridge pylons. Something like that might be iconic.

What Tourism Kamloops wants to do is get some grant money from the Southern Interior trust, which administers funds for economic development. TK would then do an “amazing” feasibility study including consultation with the community.

Some will dismiss the exercise as a waste of time and money and worry about what building whatever it is might cost, but I’ll bet it comes up with some creative ideas.

I’m Mel Rothenburger, the Armchair Mayor.

Mel Rothenburger is a regular contributor to CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a recipient of the Jack Webster Foundation Lifetime Achievement Award. He has served as mayor of Kamloops, school board chair and TNRD director, and is a retired daily newspaper editor. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.

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Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or Pattison Media.