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Port Moody slides weight behind curling hub

Port Moody council is throwing its support behind a proposal to build a regional curling hub somewhere in the Tri-Cities. But it won’t fully commit to the idea until all the costs are known.
curling
A pitch to build a regional curling facility somewhere in the Tri-Cities has received an early endorsement from Port Moody city council. But councillors want to know more about the facility's cost before throwing their full weight behind it.

Port Moody council is throwing its support behind a proposal to build a regional curling hub somewhere in the Tri-Cities.

But it won’t fully commit to the idea until all the costs are known.

At its meeting July 24, council endorsed a motion to support in principle the plan for a new curling facility and to communicate that support to Curl BC as well as curling clubs in Coquitlam and Port Moody.

Curl BC and the Coquitlam Curling Association recently pitched a plan for an eight-sheet, 37,500-sq. ft. facility that would cost about $24 million. The project would also become a regional base for training curlers, coaches, officials and ice makers as well as hosting regional, provincial and national competitions. 

“There is a need for a regional centre in the Lower Mainland,” said Curl BC executive director and CEO Scott Braley, who also suggested the provincial association could move its offices from Burnaby to the facility.

In June, Coquitlam’s city council voted to receive a staff report that said the project is worth pursuing. That report said the project’s estimated cost includes a land contribution worth about $6 million from one of the Tri-Cities, along with $1 million from the other two municipalities. Provincial and federal governments would be asked to contribute about $8 million each.

With the closure last summer of the Coquitlam curling club at the Poirier Sport and Leisure Complex, the only ice sheets left in the Tri-Cities for the area’s 676 registered curlers are at the Port Moody rec complex. But the report said the 40-year-old facility is “approaching the end of its functional lifespan,” and could be repurposed for other sports if the new facility is built.

PoMo Coun. Hunter Madsen said the proposal presents a significant cost for fewer than 700 curlers. But Mayor Mike Clay assured him that supporting the project in principle would allow its proponents to further solidify its cost estimates before anyone makes a commitment.

mbartel@tricitynews.com

Aug. 15: An earlier version of the story misspelled Scott Braley's name.