Image Credit: City of Kamloops

By Dylana Kneeshaw

BUILD KAMLOOPS

Build Kamloops Committee mulls proposed seating capacity for arena multiplex

Feb 6, 2025 | 11:51 AM

KAMLOOPS — The amount of seats surrounding four sheets of ice at a future arena multi-plex in Dufferin was a highlight of discussions at Thursday’s (Feb. 6) City of Kamloops Build Kamloops Select Committee meeting.

Staff presented an information memo about the current seating plans for the facility, which have yet to be finalized. Thursday’s meeting follows an earlier approval from city council to have four ice sheets in the multi-plex design.

While addressing the Build Kamloops Select Committee, Infrastructure Delivery Divisional Manager Matt Kachel noted that the seating capacity can have a significant impact on the building design itself.

With consideration to the needs of local sports and recreation teams, Kachel says staff determined that one ice sheet would need 1,000 seats for larger events, and the other three ice sheets will need between 100 to 250 seats.

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Part of why the seating determination needs to be made is to give staff more information to bring before user groups, with consideration to office spaces, change rooms and other spaces that need to be brought into the final design.

Councillor Nancy Bepple asked if the sledge hockey team currently playing out of McArthur Island rink could move to the newer facility with better accessibility, which staff confirmed is a sport they have considered in the arena design.

Councillor Bill Sarai asked staff about ice time scheduling to accommodate groups in the city and avoid having gaps. Staff reiterated that they are meeting with user groups and sports teams about their needs — citing a recent meeting with the Kamloops Minor Hockey Association — and will eventually use that information to form a mock-up schedule and figure out how to maximize ice time.

The proposed seating layout would also allow the multiplex and parking stalls to fit in the allocated space, as Kachel notes the site itself does have size constraints and expansion options to the building are somewhat limited.

Councillor Margot Middleton asked for clarification around whether this seating plan has maxed out the site’s growth potential, and whether it would allow for opportunities to make parking and accessibility improvements in the future or build additions to the facility.

“We should go for what we think it might get to,” answered Kachel. “I think the number where everybody thought it could be is around 800 (seats), and we’re going to put it at 1,000 to give it a bit more ability to grow in the future.”

Thursday’s report was meant to give the Build Kamloops committee information to base its recommendations on prior to the final design approval.

Construction of the arena multiplex is slated to begin in 2026, however the project is part of an ongoing lawsuit related to the method used to approve borrowing funds to build it. The City of Kamloops utilized an alternate approval process (AAP) around the decision to borrow money to pay for the $140 million multiplex, and a group of citizens has filed a petition with the BC Supreme Court over the AAP utilization, wanting to see the referendum vote used instead.