Engagement process to determine future of leisure facilities – Nelson News

The future of three Nelson recreation facilities depends on public opinion as the city faces mounting repair bills for aging buildings.

The Civic Center, Civic Arena and soccer facility were built in 1935 and the curling rink in 1973, but these facilities will require multimillion-dollar investments in the coming years.

The upcoming engagement process for Nelson and the Area Recreation Commission will be an opportunity for Nelson residents to have their say on the future of indoor recreation buildings in the city, and details of the engagement process will be released in the coming days, said Dauna Ditson, communications co-ordinator for the city in press release.

This process will provide up-to-date information on City-owned recreation facilities ahead of a joint engagement process – led by Nelson and the District Recreation Commission – starting in November and focusing on the future of recreation in Nelson.

Ditson said the city has conducted preliminary structural and geotechnical studies of the Civic Center, Civic Arena and curling rink, but the answers are not good.

“Each of these assessments has revealed an urgent need for significant investment,” she said. “Although the city has not yet completed a detailed assessment of the indoor soccer facility, it may also need to make similar investments.”

New information about the facilities means the city must act now, but as planned, Mayor Janice Morrison said.

“Before making any decisions regarding further investment in these aging facilities, we would like to understand residents’ hopes for recreational opportunities in our community,” she said in the release.

Seven years ago, the city determined the condition of each building and generated recommended necessary actions for each facility, and in the meantime, it performed capital maintenance on each facility – an average of $200,000 per year, as well as another $1.4 million in capital improvements. Ditson said.

In 2023 and 2024, the city hired consultants to conduct detailed structural studies of the facilities, which identified major structural deficiencies. The first project resulting from this process is now underway at the Civic Center, with $5.3 million spent on structural repairs and seismic and energy upgrades.

In addition, the Nelson Civic Theater Society (NCTS) will invest $4.2 million to transition to a three-screen theater.

Civic Center

Emergency roof repairs and energy and seismic upgrades at the Civic Center are nearing completion, including required seismic work at the Civic Arena.

The work is ongoing in parallel because the structures were built together in 1935 and share a common wall. The work will bring the Civic Center into compliance with current snow load and seismic building code requirements and increase its energy efficiency.

Civic Arena

Civic Arena will require additional roof repairs at a later date.

A summer 2024 structural assessment of the Civic Arena revealed a need to increase the strength of the existing roof structure to accommodate snow loads.

Preliminary structural design has been completed to address structural deficiencies. In the meantime, a snow monitoring program will be implemented, which may result in additional winter closures.

Curling rink

The city conducted a preliminary structural assessment and geotechnical review of the curling center in the summer of 2024, which revealed issues with the foundation, walls and roof structure.

As with the Civic Center and Civic Arena, the roof structure will need to be reinforced to withstand snow loads. Due to the above deficiencies, the facility is currently closed.

Indoor football facility

The structural review will be completed in 2025.