The GSL Group has managed Kelowna’s Prospera Place for more than two decades, but now it is calling for transparency on how an American company scored the top ranking bid for the next contract when the current one expires in 2029.
“I think it’s important that the information be released and be a little bit more transparent about what the process is,” Graham Lee, president and CEO of GSL Group told Global News.
In October, the city announced Oakview Group Canada as the successful bidder for the project, which has a Canadian division but is American owned.
GSL says the public deserves to know the competing bids and why the city made that choice.
“It’s just important given the circumstances, you know, with the federal government and the provincial government pushing on government procurement to try to work with Canadian companies,” Lee added.
GSL made its bid public online saying it would have charged $75,000 per year to manage Prospera while returning 97 per cent of the profits to the arena.”
“It was a very compelling offer and, you know, I think if they could release the other two, that would be fair so that people can see what they look like,” Lee said.
Get daily National news
Incumbent mayor and mayoral candidate Tom Dyas was not able to respond on camera due to what was described as a busy schedule, but the city did issue a statement saying that while Oakview Group, which also runs South Okanagan Event Centre, was the top-ranked selection, a contract has not yet been finalized.
They added that once the process is complete and a contract has been executed, the city may release high-level information that includes the overall contract value and a general description of the services to be provided.
Mayoral candidate and incumbent councillor Ron Cannan wants to review procurement despite having been part of the council that made the decision on the new operator.
“As far as the decision what has been made, that’s made in-camera, so I can’t comment on it,” he said.
“But obviously, we’re in this position, you know, I’ve been advocating to review our procurement policies.”
Lee maintains that his calls for transparency are more about the community’s best interests over GSL’s failed bid.
“If it’s a really good option for the city, you know, we will support that,” he said.
Comments
Want to discuss? Please read our Commenting Policy first.