At a Special Council Meeting, held October 3, 2007, City Council awarded a contract for the construction of an addition to the Fernie Memorial Arena to construct four new dressing rooms and an expanded storage area. The contract was awarded to Wolfe Builders in the amount of $362,840. Further contracts will be awarded in the near future for the electrical and plumbing works to service the new addition.

The Arena expansion is part of ongoing plans to make the Arena a more functional, modern and user-friendly facility for user groups and the general public. Work already completed includes new boards and glass and safety netting. Further work to be undertaken in the near future includes renovations to the existing public washrooms to enlarge their capacity and modernize them.

The total budget for the Arena improvements is just under $1,000,000 and the City has obtained grant funding from the Provincial Government’s Olympic / Paralympic Live Sites program in the amount of $330,000. The project budget has increased approximately $270,000 from the original estimates to account for an increase in size of the addition and increased construction costs. After consulting user groups the size of the addition was increased by approximately 25%. The larger facility will make the Arena more functional and useable by the community for the foreseeable future.

Mayor Macnair says: “The City has been working towards this for a number of years and we are extremely pleased to see this project coming to fruition. We look forward to welcoming the public and users to the expanded and improved Arena early in the new year.”

The Arena expansion and renovations are expected to be complete by March 31, 2008.
Media Contacts:
Allan Chabot, Chief Administrative Officer
250-423-2225
Jim Hendricks, Director of Financial and Computer Services
250-423-2223