Kelowna on the hunt for new Prospera Place manager

Kelowna won't take full ownership of Prospera Place for another five years, but it's now looking out for a new manager to fill the role when that does happen.

It comes nearly eight months after the city announced it would be dropping the current operator, GSL Group, which missed a January deadline to outline plans to upgrade the building.

The city is looking for a shortlist of qualified companies that could eventually join in a public-private partnership to manage the building. It's a model that the city has followed with Prospera Place since 1999.

Pospera Places's lack of upgrades was the reason Kelowna wasn't in the running for the 2023 Memorial Cup tournament. Despite being selected for the cancelled 2020 tournament, Kelowna didn't bid for the 2023 CHL event and it went to Kamloops instead.

The building's defects were documented, but the document hasn't been released and iNFOnews.ca continues to wait on the results of a contested Freedom of Information request.

In light of the building assessment, GSL Group was expected to submit a proposal to the city for improving the 25-year-old arena. When that didn't happen, the city announced it would open up the deal to other companies.

“There was a fairly big window of time there in order for them to do that and the communication we received in December was that we will be receiving some information in the upcoming months," Kelowna mayor Tom Dyas told iNFOnews.ca in January. "A decision was made that we think we should see what other expressions of interest are out there.”

He suggested the call for proposals would include details about what the building needs, but when the document was released on Aug. 1, those specifics weren't there. What it includes is a general list of requirements for the company that ultimately manages the building, which includes event management, concessions and infrastructure improvements.

The call for proposals adds that the city may consider similar partnerships for other future recreational facilities.

Go here for more of our coverage of Prospera Place.

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