Kiwanis pool to be demolished

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This article was published 12/07/2023 (1029 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Keystone Centre is preparing to have the defunct Kiwanis Pool demolished more than four years after it was last open.

The venue currently has a tender out looking for a contractor to remove the structure located near the intersection of 13th Street and Southern Avenue.

It was closed in July 2019 after city staff stated a harsh winter had left the pool with significant mechanical and structural issues. Brandon City Council decided later that year not to reopen it.

Though it was operated by the City of Brandon while open, Keystone Centre general manager Jeff Schumacher confirmed Thursday that his organization owns the pool.

He said he wasn’t aware of that fact until the decision was made to close the facility and the city returned its keys.

“There was never a discussion from our part with getting into repairs and trying to get into the pool business,” Schumacher said. “It would have been pretty costly.”

The tender is still open for bids until July 28 and the cost of the demolition won’t be known until after that process is complete. However, Schumacher said the city provided funding in recent years to assist with the decommissioning.

Once the water connections to the site have been capped off and the structure removed, the plan is to remediate the land to prepare it for another purpose.

According to Schumacher, early talks have been held regarding moving the existing recycling depot at the Keystone Centre’s parking lot to the pool’s location, with a fence erected around the site to keep debris from blowing away in the wind.

Having more open space will be beneficial as the facility works on a new five-year capital plan and a longer-term master plan for the next 15 to 20 years.

Part of the work to develop the longer-term master plan involves starting to prepare for replacing the existing structure. Schumacher said that a facility like the Keystone has a typical maximum lifespan of about 65 years, which it will reach in 2038.

Building a replacement will likely entail construction taking place on the new facility while the old one remains in operation.

Earlier this year, two major funding announcements were made for the Keystone Centre: a $3-million grant from the provincial Arts, Culture and Sport in Community Fund and a $15.9-million, five-year operating agreement with the city and the province.

Those funds have allowed the venue to start working on necessary capital projects, Schumacher said.

That includes upgrades to air conditioning, new seats in Westoba Place to meet WHL standards, improved accessibility and washroom renovations.

Those seats used to be situated in the Winnipeg Arena, the home of the original iteration of the Winnipeg Jets.

The better air conditioning along with a new condenser for the ice plant, Schumacher said, will make it easier for the venue to attract shows as well as reduce incidents in Westoba Place where a combination of the ice surface for Wheat Kings games and warmer weather creates a fog cloud.

Schumacher said when World Wrestling Entertainment comes to Winnipeg — like it is scheduled to do on Aug. 14 — there are sometimes chances to have the company’s tour run a show in Brandon.

Companies like WWE having to provide their own air conditioning for talent sometimes made the Keystone Centre a harder sell, which the upgrades should assist with.

Another project on the go is building an outdoor pavilion on top of a concrete slab on the venue’s grounds. That was originally scheduled to take place years ago but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year, the centre installed a new surveillance and security system to head off a rise in thefts and vandalism. Schumacher said the system has been successful in deterring would-be criminals.

Coun. Bruce Luebke (Ward 6), the chair of the Keystone Centre’s board of directors, told the Sun Tuesday that a new capital plan was finalized last.

“One of the nice things about having that funding agreement in place is we’re actually able to come up with a five-year capital and for the most part should be able to stick to it,” Luebke said.

Before a long-term funding model was in place, Luebke said the Keystone mostly had to restrict capital projects to what funding it could get through grants.

Other capital projects Luebke said were coming to the Keystone include new LED lighting in various phases, roof repairs and upgrades to make the venue a more appealing host for conventions and banquets.

Earlier this year, the city announced it was closing the Sportsplex’s ice surface through winter 2024 due to needed repairs at the ammonia ice plant.

Luebke said he has been asked by residents if the Keystone Centre could open its ice surfaces through the summer to help make up for the loss of the Sportsplex.

The venue is planning on opening its ice surfaces earlier than normal in August, but just by a week to 10 days due to previously scheduled events using the space.

Big events coming up at the Keystone this summer include the World Clydesdale Show July 12-23 and the 2023 Canadian High School Rodeo Finals from Aug. 3-5.

It was announced on Tuesday that Vegas Golden Knights general manager and former Brandon Wheat Kings owner Kelly McCrimmon will be bringing the Stanley Cup to the Keystone Centre’s Manitoba Room from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on July 21.

McCrimmon’s Golden Knights beat the Florida Panthers in five games earlier this year with a team that included Sioux Valley Dakota Nation’s Zach Whitecloud and former Wheat King captain Mark Stone.

» cslark@brandonsun.com

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