A photo of a handout depicting a rendering of a new performing arts centre in downtown Kamloops distributed at the Jan. 8, 2019 city council meeting.

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/CHP Architects

The 'Build Kamloops' initiative would put $275 million in borrowed funds on the backs of local taxpayers, but the business cases for those projects are either outdated or non-existent.

It's one of the criticisms for the City's lofty plans that would see several new civic facilities built over several years, including a long-planned performing arts centre and an ice rink multiplex.

One elected official behind the initiative, however, assures the projects are an overall benefit for Kamloops, despite the lack of updated financials. They may not be profitable, but Coun. Mike O'Reilly said it's time to add civic amenities to the fast-growing city.

"I can't imagine what Kamloops would look like if we base every facility decision on it being a business model, and it is not," he said. "Even Riverside Park or McArthur Island or Riverside Coliseum -- these would be non-existent and that's not what builds a community."

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The loans proposed to fund the performing arts centre and the multiplex rink are $140 million and $135 million, respectively. There is little public information for the four-sheet ice rink in Dufferin, including operating costs.

The downtown theatre's business case was last updated in 2019 and doesn't take into account, for example, greater competition from Vernon which is building its own performing arts centre.

At that time it was proposed to cost $70 million. Although it would be run at an arms-length, it was estimated the City would contribute $700,000 to its operation in the first year, dropping annually to $383,000 by year five. Then, O'Reilly said, it would be revenue-neutral.

"We assume the numbers, while they may be increased, it will become revenue-neutral in the same time period," he said. "We didn't feel at the moment that it needed to be updated because a lot of it was still the same."

As for the rink, he said its planned location was decided with the expectation that visitors would spend money within the city at nearby businesses, like at Aberdeen Mall or the hotels across the highway from Kenna Cartwright Park.

Local developer Joshua Knaak said while the business case for the theatre is outdated, he expects the trajectory of operating costs and revenues to be likely the same if the city hasn't issued a renewed, in depth study. But it's not that financial document that will help him decide whether he's supportive of the projects or not.

"I don't know that people build performing arts centres or ice arenas because there's a phenomenal business cases about profitability around it. They build it because it's going to add something that's needed in the community, and they do it in a way that's as fiscally responsible as they can," he said.

He said what's more important in his mind is whether residents feel it's something the city needs and whether it's a price voters can swallow.

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Organizers behind a campaign to collect signatures for petitions against the facilities have so far ignored iNFOnews.ca requests for an interview.

When voters turned down the theatre last time, the loan would have been $45 million for a facility built around the former Kamloops Daily News building.

The current model is based off 2019 plans that voters never had an opportunity to decide on. The beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic forced the City to abandon the referendum and it was temporarily shelved.

Very little of the design from five years ago has changed so far, other than an increase in planned parking spaces from 70 to 219, according to city documents.

The arts centre, planned to host two theatres with 1,200 and 450 seats, is expected to have 31 full-time equivalent jobs once its open and hundreds over its construction phase.

Expected tourism draw wasn't fully explored in the business case at that time, but it was estimated to draw more than $1 million in local spending for every 10,000 out-of-town attendees who stay overnight.

More information on that 2019 plan can be found here. More information on the Build Kamloops plans can be found here.

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