City council said it is not economically viable to build a new stand-alone grandstand at the stampede grounds. (Nikita Ganovicheff/meadowlakeNOW Staff)

By Nikita Ganovicheff

Grandstand Decision

City council decides against stand-alone grandstand; looking into multi-use facility

May 29, 2019 | 2:00 PM

Meadow Lake city councillors have decided against building a stand-alone grandstand to replace the old grandstand as it would not be a good investment for the city.

Instead council will be meeting with the Meadow Lake Grandstand Committee, local businesses and different groups to discuss building a multi-use facility with a grandstand attached in the same location.

“We’re looking at doing a larger scale project that could maybe incorporate a new civic centre or sports courts,” Acting Mayor Merlin Seymour said. “This is the kickoff stage of it and there is a lot of groundwork to do.”

Seymour said there is already interest from groups, including Boreal Recreation Centre, to build a multi-use facility in Meadow Lake.

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This is also not the first time the city has looked into a multi-use facility. In a city council report, the city was approved for $2 million under the Building Canada Fund toward a multi-use facility in 2008. However, no funds were set aside for municipal portion of the project and it did not proceed.

Previous talks with the Grandstand Committee and other groups stalled when each party had different visions and priorities when it came to a replacement for the grandstands. Seymour said with this decision they will now be able to move forward with a clearer idea on the future project.

Councillors said this will not be a short term project as it will take time to plan and design a facility that several groups can use throughout the year.

“Getting together with the user groups and finding out what commitments the surrounding communities have and whether it’s going to be economically feasible to build something like that,” Seymour said. “It’s not going to be a small project by any means.”

The old grandstand is scheduled to be torn down by the end of June or in early July. The original plan was to have it demolished March 25 but melting snow and mud put the demolition on hold.

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nikita.ganovicheff@jpbg.ca

Twitter: @Nikitaganov