Almost three years after the ball first started, the new sports dome in West Kelowna opened to the public on Saturday and cost more than four times its original budget.
The West Kelowna Multi Sport Center, similar to the inflatable dome of Kelowna’s H2O Center, is used for a variety of sports, including soccer, baseball, and soccer.
“Various sports organizations were looking for a facility that could be used in the evenings, in spring and fall when it gets darker, and in the winter months when it rains or snows,” said Gord Milson, Mayor of West Kelowna.
“Where children can practice their various sports in a nice, warm environment all winter long.”
The dome will be opened for soccer next weekend, with ex-Canadian national soccer player Melissa Tancredi in attendance to kick off.
The project began in 2017 when the Westside Youth Soccer Association received a $ 400,000 grant from the province. The organization raised an additional $ 267,000 for the sports dome alone, and the city agreed to pay the rest of the bill.
Originally the dome was valued at $ 1 million, so the “rest of the bill” was $ 333,000. On Saturday, Milsom said the total cost of the project rose to $ 4.1 million and the city of West Kelowna had spent more than $ 3.4 million.
The rising cost of the project has been the subject of several letters from unfortunate residents over the years.
Milsom, who was elected mayor in 2018, said he thinks there is “no real science” behind the initial estimate of $ 1 million.
“We have a parking lot, we have a washroom, so we have a very modern facility,” said Milsom. “There’s no way it could be built for a million dollars.”
