Revolution Place. Photo Credit: Shaun Penner

By Shaun Penner

City Hall

Smaller upgrades to Revolution Place may go forward despite discussions of full-scale reno

Aug 10, 2020 | 1:08 PM

Small scale upgrades to Revolution Place may still go ahead, despite plans for a large-scale renovation down the road.

Back in May, it was approved by Grande Prairie City Council to allocate additional funding to the 2020 Capital Budget, which included over $500,000 for renovations to Revolution Place for concession renovations and upgrades to the lobby and box office.

However, that work has yet to get underway, and Councillor Jackie Clayton inquired about the status of that project at last week’s City Committee meetings.

Clayton says if that work is going to happen it should get going soon, while the facility remains empty.

“And, you know, during a slower time, hiring some contractors and creating a little bit of an economic stimulus with the money, by doing projects in our community at a time when the facility is currently empty.”

Meaningful Mementos

Remembering Someone You've Lost at Christmas

Dec 03, 2024

Seasonal Sorrow

How Do You Get Through The Holidays When You're Grieving?

Nov 01, 2024

Upcoming Events at Oliver's

Grief & Loss and Estate Planning Seminars

Oct 02, 2024

This allocation came ahead of a Council Committee of the Whole discussion in July, where it was voted to go forward with looking at a full-scale renovation to the facility, which would bring the facility up to at least 5,000 seats.

Clayton says she and council do not want to spend money on “throwaway” projects that would just be eliminated during a full-scale renovation, but to her understanding, this would not be the case with this project.

“The discussion, prior to the large-scale renovation discussion, was that these renovations and upgrades were essential, regardless of what the future of Revolution Place was.”

Administration, who is taking a deep dive into the feasibility of completing these small-scale renovations, will provide more information to a city committee in the near future as to whether this work will be going forward. Staff had told the committee meeting last week that it did not want the smaller-scale changes to go ahead in case they overlapped with the bigger one.

Clayton says though that as it stands, council expects that these renovations will go ahead.

“They are not part of the larger scale upgrade and renovation at this point. They were purely smaller upgrades and opportunities for efficiencies in the building that could be found right now, at that $500,000 mark.”

As for the full-scale renovation plans, the next step will be a public engagement process that is set to kick off later in August, which will give residents input on what the “new” Revolution Place should look like.

“We want to hear what people think about the large-scale renovation. What it looks like in the future,” said Clayton. “The consultation plan will have a component where they’ll have an open house, as well as an online opportunity for discussion.”