PETERS: In our hurry to Build Kamloops, let’s not throw out our links to the past

That bridge was nice to look at but not so nice to use.

Even if it hadn’t been destroyed by arson, it needed to be replaced by something much more functional years ago.

Yet our memories of the bridge tend to leave out the white-knuckle drives and the litany of potholes.

Much like the Red Bridge, Memorial Arena holds a great deal of nostalgia for residents of our city.

The old barn is filled with great memories of hockey glory — the salad days of the mid-’90s, with a raucous packed house cheering on the Memorial Cup-winning Blazers.

In 2026, it does not hold up to the demands of a downtown arena in a city our size.

Even so, the reaction to news of the city’s plans to knock it down, knock the Kamloops Curling Club down and replace them with modern curling and racquet sports facilities was mixed.

This is a nostalgic town and that old barn still means a lot to its residents — not in practical terms in the present, but in our hearts.

Is it worth spending some of the tens of millions of dollars this development will take to preserve and improve Memorial Arena — if only to satisfy that nostalgia?

Maybe it is.

There’s a lot to say for a city that chooses to build on its history rather than knock it down or let it fall into disrepair.

This is a debate that will come to the fore with regard to another downtown relic in the years to come — the former Stuart Wood Elementary School.

The beautiful old building on prime downtown property faces an uncertain future itself, largely thanks to the uncertain situation around ownership and control.

It hasn’t been a school for a decade and its future is foggy, at best.

Will we preserve and build on it, will we knock it down and replace it with something more suited to the city’s needs, or will we continue letting it rot?

In our rush to embrace Build Kamloops for the future of the city, we shouldn’t so quickly throw away our links to the past.

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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.

by James Peters

PETERS: In our hurry to Build Kamloops, let’s not throw out our links to the past

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