news out of moose jaw

[wardog fan]

well theres some good news and then theres some bizarre and funny news coming out of the jaw in the last couple of days first off then good news...

We Got 'Em

We put together a strong bid package and in the end, we got what we were after. Chairperson of the Saskatchewan Games Council Brenda Bathgate made the official announcement at the Moose Jaw Cultural Centre Tuesday morning. “It is at this time that I would like to announce that Moose Jaw will host the 2010 Saskatchewan Winter Games.”

In February 2010, over 2,000 athletes plus coaches, family and friends will be welcomed by the Friendly City. And according to Bathgate, it'll be great for the local economy. “You know it's a huge economic impact that the community of Moose Jaw will see. Not only prior to the games with different events going on to maybe do some fundraising and get the excitement booming within the city, but during the games it'll be huge”.

This is Moose Jaw's 4th Saskatchewan Games setting a new record for host communities. Local Winter Games Committee Chair Tony Dreger is just glad everything is finally official. “Knowing that it's official now and that our big job of fundraising and finding volunteers and making it all come together is upon us but it's exciting for us and it's exciting for Moose Jaw”.

The Saskatchewan Games Council's Provincial Games Consultant, Lorne Lasuita tells us what will make the event a success. “It's the care and comfort of the athlete and giving them an experience that they'll remember but also hopefully instill some enthusiasm that they'll want to continue in other multi-sport games. When we did the site-evaluation their (Moose Jaw's ) proposal to us was very, very appealing and from what we saw it's going to be a first class experience for the athlete”.

Planning will now begin to make this the best event in the 38 year history of the games.
*this is a good move for the city and maybe this group can step in and work together or take charge on the new rink ideas...*

secondly i had a great laugh at this and the whole article well enjoy.lol

Moose Jaw: The Future Home of the NHL?






He says the old Moose Jaw Civic Centre still has decades of life left in it.



The man who designed it, architect Joe Pettick, was in Moose Jaw Tuesday night to tell city council we can expand the Civic Centre to satisfy the Western Hockey League and then we can focus on the future.



He believes we could team up with the City of Regina to build a major arena and attract an NHL franchise.



"Years ago, Bill Hunter proposed that a National Hockey League facility be built in Saskatchewan. Now I think that the Development Corridor is going to be a show piece in Canada and to included a cultural and recreation component would be a very good investment."



However, a new arena is not part of Pettick's plan. He appeared Tuesday night with Regina's Luigi Mazzotti of P-3 Architecture. They showed council a drawing of an expanded south side of the Moose Jaw Civic Centre. P-3 designed the recently completed renovations to Swift Current's arena and are proposing extensive renovations here in Moose Jaw as an alternative to the multiplex.
* me personally thinks this guy is on crack and secondly its too late to save the can, no way could we bring that rink to standards. swift was a diffrent story and they did well on their rink, our rink the roof is too low and honestly i think its too late to change plans after soo much money spent on designs for a new rink and debates and everything like that , with the annual league meeting set for a couple of weeks its too late to change plans like that . and to bring a nhl team to moose jaw and regina??? oh gosh i have heard it all now......i swear i live in the most werid city in western canada..lol

[wardog fan]

this is the follow up to the civic center reno's in todays times herald....

In 1959, the city officially opened Moose Jaw’s Civic Centre, designed by Joseph Pettick. During Tuesday’s council meeting, the local WHL rink’s 83-year-old architect argued for its survival.
Pettick told councillors the landmark facility would be structurally sound for many decades to come and renovating it to meet WHL standards would be several million dollars cheaper than building an entirely new multiplex.
He said the cost for renovating the current structure was estimated 1 1/2 years ago at about $13 million to $16 million, compared to multiplex estimates that reach as much as $69.6 million. Pettick acknowledged his renovation figures are probably low, with the rapidly increasing costs of construction.
“Why spend $50 million when you could spend half that,” he said in an interview before the meeting, adding the saddle-roof design has sentimental worth for him. The Civic Centre was the lifelong architect’s first large contract after starting his design business five decades ago.
However, Pettick said the reasons for keeping the Civic Centre aren’t sentimental, but practical.
He pointed out to councillors parking isn’t an issue at the current location and neither is land allocation since the Civic Centre is on city land.
He said the renovated facility would see expansions to the east and west sides of the rink and a new entry on the south side, providing enough room for WHL required improvements such as a gift shop and management offices.

For more, pick up Wednesday's Times-Herald

[Trav]

This guy doesn't wanna admit that his rink is toast. Sounds just like one of those heritage people that like to spend millions just to keep something going a bit lnger rather then spending more dollars for a brand new building that'll last decades. If he thinks the civil center is good for another couple decades then wow he must be out to lunch or mentally unstable, proof of that would be the talk of having a NHL team there haha, that'd be the day.

Could it be the city council will try and sweet talk the WHL in to accepting the renovations idea lol, bunch of clowns if they are.

[wango tango]

a few things scare me with the renovation talk. first a decision should have been made already, it's almost like moose jaw councillors are daring the whl to yank the franchise. and two are councillors looking for an on the cheap solution, or one that would actually work?

[Arthur Fonzerelli]

Sounds like this was a last ditch attempt by private parties to secure some work for themselves. It was just a presentation to council, hopefully it won't gather any serious interest at this late date. The new entertainment complex should be built. vc124