By Sebastian Kanally, Times Chronicle

Arena upgrades, the unveiling of Lions Park Washroom, and a new booking software system highlight what is to be an exciting year for recreation in Oliver. 

Oliver received its first recreation update from Carol Sheridan, Director of Recreation for the town after the Oliver and District Recreational Advisory Committee had its inaugural meeting on April 29. 

Sheridan highlighted some of the work that is being undertaken early in 2024. 

A new recreation software has launched for all registrations, point of sale, reservations, and memberships for recreation in Oliver. The new recreation software platform is called Amilia. 

Currently, members of the community are setting up their new accounts and staff are working to provide any assistance to people with the changes to the process. Sheridan noted that it is a full changeover, “we are just bringing the community along with us on this journey with a new platform”. 

Sheridan noted that the old “ActiveNet” system was no longer meeting their needs and has been in place since 2011. They also needed to reduce transaction fees which this new system allows them to do. 

Sheridan also noted that all facilities within the recreation service are now fully operational for 2024. The new Lion’s Park washroom building retrofit is now complete and the facility has been opened for public use. These washrooms will be open year round for public use with shower access. 

Another project that is officially underway is the long awaited Oliver and District Arena Rehabilitation project which will come in at around $3.8 million. After five years of preparation, the project will see the installation of a new concrete substrate, a new subfloor, a new concrete slab, cooling lines, new dasher boards, new players benches, two new dressing rooms, six new washrooms, and an update to the kitchen and referee’s room.

Sheridan tried to put the size of the project into perspective by explaining that they have cut “590 pieces of concrete that were each estimated at 900 kg (2,000 lbs), for a total of 680 tonnes of concrete that is being removed from the arena”. 

The concrete slab is the original from 1969, and Sheridan noted to council that “a lot of the items that are coming out of the arena we are trying to keep out of the landfill, so we are either repurposing them, or they will be available to the community if they are interested. 

“We will be communicating with the community about, for lack of a better word, a yard sale for benches, hooks, and flooring, that kind of stuff.” 

The boards from the arena have already gone to Apex Mountain Resort which is building a new outdoor rink and is repurposing the old boards. 

All these arena renovations are targeted to end around September 6, 2024 explained Sheridan as they will need to make ice for the fall season. 

Mayor Martin Johansen and Sheridan agreed that the town will have to plan something big for the community when the arena is finally completed.

Other notable updates for recreation in Oliver is that Big League Baseball Experience Camps will be returning to Oliver between July 29 and August 29. 

A Recreation Master Plan is also well on its way to being developed. The plan was initiated in Fall 2023. The first three phases of the project including inventory and assessments, community engagement, and draft recommendations have been completed. The target completion date is July 2024. 

More information on the timeline for the recreation master plan can be found here.