In its first year of operation, Lethbridge’s massive ATB Centre is still really in its infancy.
Phase two of the project is still a couple of years away from completion but so far the city is pleased with the level of interest the community is showing.
The facility includes a 10-sheet curling facility and two NHL-sized arenas.
“Things are looking fantastic at the ATB Centre,” City of Lethbridge Recreation Services Manager Jason Freund said. “It looks like we’re right on target from what we we’re expecting to happen over here.”
In total, approximately 74,000 people have entered the ATB Centre between September and December. That’s on pace to hit the city’s projection of 200,000 for the whole year.
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“Given that this is not a busiest part of the year, that we have our major tournaments and events still coming up in the spring, that’s a great start for this building,” Freund said.
This is the first time the city is taking a physical count of how many people enter an arena over a long period of time.
“When you build a facility of this nature, the kind of dollars that was spent on it, and the high profile it has in the community, we want to be able to show people that we’re being responsible with how we did that, we’re being able to meet the criteria that we set out when we started,” Freund said.
The Lethbridge Curling Club is in its first year at the ATB Centre and is reaping the benefits of its new home.
“We’re definitely seeing the impact,” Lethbridge Curling Club General Manager Bret Nicol said. “Especially being paired with the twin arenas right next door. We’re seeing a lot of the traffic coming in generate a lot of revenue for us at a club. It’s great for us to see.”
Much of that increased revenue is coming from food and beverage sales in the lounge and concession area. The club has also seen an increase in membership, up to over 1,000 members – 100 more than a year ago.
The overall numbers are positive and the city hopes that with more experience, comes more people.
“As we get better at running the facility and know how our events run and our profile across the community and Alberta grows, we’ll build from that,” Freund said. “It’s not likely going to decrease more, we’re going to go up. It’s nice to know that.”
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