Alternative approval process gives Kamloops residents final say on Build Kamloops plan
KAMLOOPS — The Build Kamloops plan has taken a step forward with council voting to approve an alternative approval process to borrow up to $275 million. The funding is targeted at bringing the two highest priorities to reality — first, a performing arts centre, and second, a multiplex ice facility, slated to bring four new sheets of ice to Kamloops.
The last major capital investment in Kamloops came in the early 2000s with the addition of the Tournament Capital Centre. Since that time, the population of the city has grown by more than 20,000 people.
“We are significantly short — we have been for over a decade on ice in our city. A performing arts centre — a new one — hasn’t been built since 1978. And we haven’t had a net new sheet of ice since 1992. We are very short. We believe the residents of Kamloops need these facilities and we’ve needed them for a long time,” said Build Kamloops Committee Chair Mike O’Reilly.