Tom Jones was supposed to have opened sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 new arena.听
Itsa国际传媒 not unusual to have big-name celebs christen a big rink. But in 1999, the Welsh-born crooner had yet to enter his irony-fuelled late career comeback.听
The announcement that Jones, a 鈥60s-era heartthrob, would rock the joint at the opening of sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 long-sought modern-day arena at the edge of the second millennium did not go over well. It seemed a weird throwback to the days when sa国际传媒 was a city stuck in, well, the the 1960s.听
Eyebrows were raised so high, in fact, that a change was made. Instead of Tom Jones, whosa国际传媒 still alive at the age of 94, the big downtown rink was christened by (Nobody Remembers).听
Joking.听
The rink was opened by Moist. You鈥檒l have to Google them.
That inauspicious start to the non-hockey use of sa国际传媒sa国际传媒 biggest arena has been mirrored down the years, according to city officials. They say the arenasa国际传媒 owners haven鈥檛 made the required updates to the building, or been active enough in booking big-name acts. The ownership disputes this claim, saying itsa国际传媒 fulfilled all the obligations required of it.听
Itsa国际传媒 a lot of he-said, she-said at this point.听
But what is certain is that the 30-year ownership and management contract is coming to an end in five years鈥 time. And both the city and GSL Group are already engaging in currying favour with the public in the obviously different directions they hope this story will go.听
GSL Group, led by Graham Lee, hopes for a retention of its management contract. The city wants a review of its options.听
The two camps seem far apart right now, to the point where GSL Group is sending out releases about all the great things it has done for sa国际传媒 and sa国际传媒 Mayor Tom Dyas all but ruling out a continued arena management bid from the company.听
Itsa国际传媒 not clear to what extent, if any, public perception will play a part in this process. But on Wednesday, GSL sent out a release boasting about its so far 25-year ownership and management of the 6,500 seat rink.听
The next year, GSL said, will fill the rink with more people than has ever been the case since 1999.听
鈥淭hanks to the people of sa国际传媒 and area, the last 25 years have been a resounding success,鈥 Lee said. 鈥淥ur vision from the start was to create a premier venue to host world-class sporting and entertainment events in the Okanagan, all while safeguarding taxpayers from construction and operating risk - and we succeeded,鈥 GSL president Graham Lee said.听
Prospera Place was the smallest venue on the recent tour by Tool, the release noted, and the rink has hosted more than 80 events over the past years.听
For his part, Dyas has suggested the city won鈥檛 even consider an extension of the rinksa国际传媒 management contract by GSL Group.
鈥淲e have communicated to GSL that we鈥檙e not interested in them putting forward an expression of interest at this time,鈥 Mayor Tom Dyas has told The Daily Courier.
鈥淥ur hope is we have a number of expressions of interest, and also different ideas, visions, and thought on what the potential is for our arena,鈥 Dyas said. 鈥淭hatsa国际传媒 an exciting part of this - how will somebody else that is in this profession look at this opportunity?鈥
听
