In 2009, City of Quesnel received a $30,000 grant from Northern Development through the Community Halls and Recreation Facilities program towards this $260,000 project. This has been a funding partnership of City of Quesnel, Northern Development, Cariboo Regional District, and Recreation Infrastructure Canada
2012 – The Quesnel and District Twin Arenas is a significant centre for the community of Quesnel and its surrounding rural areas in the Cariboo. Â The facility has been host to a number of large events such as the Northern BC Winter Games, Provincial Ringette Championships, frequent hockey and ringette tournaments, lacrosse tournaments, regional figure skating competitions, and trade shows.
Prior to this project, the roof for Arena 2 at the Twin Arenas was approximately eighteen years of age and the tar and gravel roof desperately needed to be replaced in order to maintain operation of the arena. Â The upgrades undertaking under this project will allow a wide range of important community events to continue to be held in Quesnel, while also providing sustained recreation and active living opportunities for residents, youth, and seniors in the community. Â In particular, the Quesnel Figure Skating Club relies on Twin Arena 2 as its home for practices and regional events.
The City of Quesnel had originally planned to repair the roof in 2010 following the 2009 operating season. Before the replacement, the leaks in the arena were being managed with buckets suspended from the rafters of the arena. Some cancellations of ice time were unfortunately necessary, which highlighted the need for a new roof in 2009. The new roof is a ‘torch on’ roof which is a significant improvement and will allow the facility to remain operational for many years into the future.
"The Twin Arenas roofing project was essential to prolong the life of Arena 2 at the Twin Arenas and to ensure that the facility continues to be an important hub for sport tourism in Quesnel. The facility continues to host a variety of tournaments and events that attract tourists to Quesnel including a figure skating workshop to be conducted by Kurt Browning for the Quesnel Figure Skating Club planned for spring 2012."
Jeff Norburn, General Manager of Community Services, City of QuesnelThe Quesnel and District Twin Arenas serve as the primary attractions for sport tourism in the region. The arenas host numerous sporting tournaments and competititons, in addition to large community events such as trade shows. These events are often multiple day events that require people from all over BC to stay in the Quesnel area for multiple days, bringing benefits the hospitality industry and the rest of the local economy.The reconstruction of the roof itself provided employment for six full time roofing contractors for the equivalent of four weeks and has helped to ensure that the arena remains operational, protecting the jobs of existing arena workers.