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Creighton council seeks second study for Sportex, looking to expand use, energy efficiency

The Town of Creighton is looking to hold a second feasibility study for the Creighton Sportex.
sportex

The Town of Creighton is looking to hold a second feasibility study for the Creighton Sportex.

Town council saw a recommendation from the Town’s bylaws, resolutions, policy and fiscal service committee to support an application to the provincial government’s Targeted Sector Support (TSS) grant to fund another study into the Sportex. That recommendation was carried by council during the meeting.

This time, the goal of the study is to, according to the wording of the committee recommendation, “transform the Sportex arena into a more energy-efficient multi-use recreational cultural facility.”

“We’re looking at ways to make it more efficient, more ways to make use of it, things like that,” said Mayor Bruce Fidler following the Feb. 10 meeting. On the recommendation of council and Creighton Recreation, Culture and Tourism, the Sportex’s ice surface was taken out earlier this year.

“We’ve taken the ice out and we’re putting in some other programs and stuff like that presently, different uses of the ice portion of it. We just want to get a study done as to what else we could do with the building.”

Fidler wanted to be clear that the study will not mean shutting down the Sportex’s ice surface for skating and hockey next season.

“The rink is going to be there. Come next year, when things go back to hopefully somewhat normal, the ice will go back in and hopefully there will be play, but it’s a big building and we want to know what other uses we can have for it. It’s a feasibility study on multi-use,” said the mayor.

The TSS is part of the Saskatchewan government’s municipal revenue sharing program, meant to be used to support projects that “...encourage inter-community collaboration, help build capacity and promote good governance in all Saskatchewan municipalities,” according to the provincial government’s website. Applications to the TSS are due by March 5.

It is the second time in recent years that town council has chosen to hold such a study for the Sportex. The first study, which took place in 2018, led to renovations for the building, including work on some of the building’s dressing rooms and other refurbishments.

“We’ve had a couple [studies] down on different ideas and things. We try not to spend a lot of our own money on these things, which is why we put in for different grants to do it,” Fidler said.

The Sportex was built in 1978.

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