Kamloops council to decide on slightly relocating Riverside Park skating rink to keep water park open during construction

KAMLOOPS — The plan to build an outdoor skating in downtown Kamloops could see a minor adjustment.

Kamloops council will decide during its Tuesday (Feb. 6) regular meeting if the outdoor skating rink in Riverside Park will be slightly west of the original location near the water park.

In a report to Kamloops council, city staff say the previously approved concept for the downtown rink was a 1750m^2 ice surface that would surround Riverside Park’s newly constructed accessible water park. Although while developing the rink’s design, the city’s project team says it found a comparable size slightly west in the park.

The report says placing the skating rink at the original location would require the water park to be closed for an entire summer season.

“Construction at the proposed new location can be done without interrupting the water park operations,” the report states. “The original design concept plan was to include ice rink piping within the water park slab. Since then, staff have learned the elevation required for water park drainage cannot accommodate an ice rink pad. As a result, pipes were not pre-installed under the water park slab. This makes the proposed new location cost neutral.”

Additionally, the report says the new proposed location is primarily on existing hard surface and asphalt, meaning less than 30 per cent of the rink’s footprint would impact existing green space in Riverside Park.

The project was approved by council in April 2023 with a budget of $5.4 million thanks to a provincial grant. City staff say Riverside Park is heavily utilized during the spring, summer and fall seasons but is underutilized in the winter.

If approved by council, detailed design and site regulatory approvals will be carried out during the remainder of 2024. Construction would be slated to begin in summer 2025.