By Lara Fominoff @LaraFominoff on Twitter

Exhibition Park asks for Lethbridge City Council support and input on new convention centre steering committee

Sep 18, 2018 | 10:24 AM

LETHBRIDGE – Exhibition Park will have to wait two weeks for an answer from City Council, after a request was made at Monday’s meeting for two members of council to give input on a steering committee, and for an endorsement of a new concept/model of what a new convention centre and Agri plex would look like.

CEO Rudy Friesen says they’re now starting work in earnest, to spend the $2.2 million the organization received during last year’s CIP (Capital Improvement Program) budget from the City of Lethbridge, and from the Province’s CARES (Community and Regional Economic Support) program. The money will be used to develop architectural design documents to move the project forward to a state where it would be ready to be tendered.

A new concept video and virtual reality display called “EXolution” outlining what a new Agri plex and convention centre would look like and how they could be used was also unveiled to council. (Video courtesy: Exhibition Park).

“Even though we can say that in six or eight months the facility might look somewhat different than what we’re talking about today, it gives people a sense of all kinds of things,” explained Friesen. “The location on the site, what it can do, the differences compared to our existing facility.”

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However, even when the architectural design is completed, some major pieces of the process remain including how, when, and where funding can be secured for the actual structure.

“I can’t speak to anything specific right now, but those conversations are ongoing as they have been over the last number of years. We’ve had fantastic conversations in recent months with the Province of Alberta. The province, along with the city have helped us to try and identify some federal funding sources. We’re working on those right now.”

In the meantime, over the next two weeks, Friesen says it will be ‘business as usual’ working with the consultants, architects and engineers.

Council tabled the motion for support and for two members to become involved on the Exhibition Park ad hoc committee, citing potential conflict with upcoming budget deliberations.

The matter was received as information and will be brought forward again Oct.1.