A decision has been made on how to proceed with a new arena in Quesnel.
After several hours of presentations, questions from a packed City Council Chambers and discussion from the politicians the outcome was to proceed with the proposed location.
Cariboo Regional District Director John Massier:
The politicians also heard that there is also the possibility of a very competitive bidding process driving down the prize.
That said they have downsized it a little to help out
Eliminating the breezeway that joins the two arenas will save around $300,000 plus another $500,000 that won’t be needed for road access.
The architects will also be asked to look at reducing the number of seats from 1440 down to 1200.
Despite those changes, Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson says it is still an NHL sized arena with all of the amenities including meeting rooms and a multi-purpose room.
One option that was being considered at the beginning of the night was to build the new arena on the existing site but that was not popular amongst the user groups in attendance who were told that they could face a reduced season and a half.
(Files from George Henderson)