LETTER – Is there a problem with expanding the site for new multiplex?

Posted on September 21, 2026 in Feedback, Letters // 0 Comments

(Image: Group2 Architects)

Build Kamloops chose the 2070 Hillside Drive site for the arena multiplex, saying building the facility on city-owned land would save taxpayers a few $million.

Back in 2023, city operations director Jen Fretz warned council about “loss of Kenna Cartwright Park space” and said “significant earthworks” are required to prepare the 2070 Hillside Drive property for the Arena Multiplex. It was well-known that the costs for removing and dumping a hill of highway construction debris and building a huge retaining wall at 2070 Hillside would be very high.

The councilors decided to build there anyway.

Now, council finally admits the site is too small to accommodate the needed rinks. Instead, taxpayers are going to buy a couple of parcels of land a bit farther along Hillside Drive.

Kamloops opts to acquire Crown land for multi-rink arena project | iNFOnews.ca

There may be a problem with this, aside from the added expense.Funding the multiplex depended on voter “approval” via an alternative approval process (AAP) held in the summer of 2023.

The BC Community Charter, states that a city only obtains elector approval if the ballot form includes “a description of the area to which the approval process applies.” Thus, location is a fundamental element of the regulations governing the AAP and therefore the electors’ AAP decision. The multiplex loan bylaw was the direct fruit of the AAP so, even if not named, the 2070 Hillside Drive location must be implicit in the loan bylaw.

Changing the location of the multiplex could mean going back to the residents with a referendum or holding another AAP. Without clear voter approval for a different or additional site, the AAP-approved loan could be on shaky ground.

Perhaps council should consult the city’s lawyers before making a decision that could involve the city in litigation.

BRONWEN SCOTT