Dufferin multiplex may open with three rinks as delays, additions lead to increased $154M price tag

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Long-term borrowing following the 2024 Alternative Approval Process (AAP), which survived a legal challenge, is currently set to cover up to $125 million of the cost.

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In that report, which will go before Monday’s (April 13) Build Kamloops Select Committee meeting, David Hallinan, the city’s corporate services director, said the preliminary budget for the arena – which is set to rise at 2070 Hillside Drive – was developed in early 2024.

“[It allowed] the organization to work with Council to seek the required public approval for long‑term borrowing, which was a critical component of the facility’s financial plan,” the report read.

“Council directed staff to seek public approval for the project based on the information available at that time. The construction estimate used was a Class D estimate, consistent with the City’s current capital cost estimating policy for projects anticipated to be delivered within a three‑ to five‑year timeframe.”

The report also said the costs have increased due to the legal challenge as well as the proposed addition of a library and a mini ice rink. It claims the court challenge added about $5-million to the overall price tag, “primarily due to economic uncertainty, tariffs, and broader global impacts.”

“Unplanned delays resulting from a publicly initiated challenge to the use of the alternative approval process for securing borrowing approval negatively affected both the project budget and schedule, Hallinan wrote of the roughly five-month saga which began in Oct. 2024 and ended in March 2025.

“These delays also limited the organization’s ability to proceed with the work until clarity was obtained regarding the availability of the required debt financing.”

As for the addition to the library and the mini-rink, the report said the project budget is expected to increase by another $5 million, but also said the cost implications of the library have yet to be confirmed.

“Any decision to proceed will require further consideration and financial validation,” the report said.

“Administration is working with the Thompson‑Nicola Regional District to define the overall funding relationship for the proposed library and continues to assess the implications for building design and ongoing operations.”

Current budget estimate for the proposed Dufferin Arena Multiplex in Kamloops (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

Three Ice Rinks to Start

While City Councillors previously approved the addition of four NHL-sized ice rinks at the arena multiplex, the facility is expected to open with three rinks. It’s part of what’s being called a “staggered approach” to support the upcoming decommissioning of Memorial Arena.

“Materials reclaimed from Memorial Arena would then be used to construct the fourth and final ice sheet at the Kamloops Arena Multiplex,” Matt Kachel, the city’s infrastructure delivery divisional manager, wrote in another report that will also be presented at Monday’s Build Kamloops meeting.

“[It’ll be] a new Memorial ice sheet that pays homage to the retired downtown facility, which has served the community for decades and represents an important part of Canadian history.”

Kachel wrote that all necessary services for the fourth sheet of ice will be installed from the get-go, which would allow the other three rinks to be used while the fourth is being built.

“This approach avoids overcommitting the City until risks are mitigated or retired, while keeping the door open to add the fourth sheet in a variety of ways or timelines,” Kachel wrote, adding the fourth rink will proceed when funding is available.

“While the validation phase is not complete, it is apparent that current level of funding will only support a three-sheet multiplex, but adding the mini rink may be possible in its place,” the report said. “Regardless, the design will feature all four sheets as well as the mini rink, with plans to complete the project in stages.”

As for that fourth ice rink, Kachel said the design team is looking at building an outdoor rink with a canopy – similar to the one in Sun Peaks. He said the foundations and building services can also be sized to enclose that rink “as an optional upgrade down the road, or right away.”

Site Challenges

The validation phase of the project began in December last year, and a report into is expected to go before City Council at the end of May. The city previously said that report will provide “a thorough understanding of the investment required to build the facility.”

Preliminary earthworks at the municipally-owned site next to Kenna Cartwright Park is still on track to begin in June, even as the project team is “working through the topographical complexities of the site.”

“The focus remains on early identification of potential risks and the development of robust mitigation strategies to enable a smooth progression into the subsequent design and construction phases,” Kachel said.

“This stage will result in a refined project plan, reflecting collective input from programming, operations, and maintenance teams.”

The proposed location for the arena multiplex is a former dump site for materials that were removed during construction of the Coquihalla Highway in the 1980s. The report noted that the chosen site is “sloped with sections of material that are not suitable to support the building.”

“The site needs to be flattened to ensure accessibility within the building, as well as along the surrounding pathways and parking areas,” the report added. “The proposed strategy involves terracing the site and gradually sloping to meet accessible grades.”

“Hillside Drive can also be raised to align with a ramped entrance, significantly reducing material handling requirements.”

The City has also said it will addressing concerns raised regarding increased traffic associated with the new arena and other nearby development. They say there will be safety and other traffic improvements coming to the Hillside Drive corridor so it can handle the anticipated increase in traffic.

Next Steps

Should City Council greenlight the project’s move to the construction phase this year, site servicing and foundation work is expected to begin next spring, with construction expected to wrap up by late 2029 or early 2030.

Once the arena multiplex opens, the city expects to begin work on a new curling and racquet sports facility on Victoria Street. That project involves the demolition of Memorial Arena and the existing Kamloops Curling Club, and it has the blessing of the veterans groups like the Kamloops Legion.

Preliminary site works are underway on the $211-million Kamloops Centre for the Arts at 393 Seymour Street, the site of the former Kamloops Daily News building at Fourth Avenue and Seymour Street downtown. That project was initially estimated to cost $154 million, but those figures were revised.

The arts centre – which was identified as the top priority in the city’s Recreation Master Plan – is the first in a series of Build Kamloops projects, and a grand opening is expected to be held in 2029.