By Liam Verster

Relaunch Stage 2

Despite province moving into phase two, City’s rec facilities not ready to re-open

Jun 12, 2020 | 6:52 AM

Although Stage Two of the province’s relaunch plan comes into effect Friday, the City of Grande Prairie will not be opening its recreation facilities.

Rec centres were originally planned to be included in Phase Three, but on Tuesday, June 9, Premier Jason Kenney announced that recreation facilities would be added to Phase Two, which was also being moved up a full week ahead of schedule.

However, despite being included in the second phase, many recreation centres across Alberta, including in Grande Prairie, won’t be re-opening right away.

The City of Grande Prairie says there will be a phased re-opening at the Community Knowledge Campus Centre, including the Coca Cola Centre, Eastlink Centre, Synthetic Turf, and the Grande Prairie Outdoor Pool, and that these facilities will not be ready to be used by the public for some time still.

The Eastlink Centre and Coca Cola Centre see an average of 3,000 visitors a day, and more time is needed to come up with specific, strategic plans involving monitoring and controling visitors, while maintaining COVID-19 guidelines.

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The City also needs to re-hire and re-train staff that were temporarily laid off when the pandemic forced the closure of the facilities. The staff will not only need to ensure they can handle the equipment, but also the new guidelines to ensure that a healthy environment is maintained and that there’s no risk of an outbreak of the virus.

The City says an announcement will be made when the plans for re-opening are finalized.