Emily Plihal
Local Journalism
Initiative Reporter
Nampa Community Complex will be celebrating its 50th birthday on October 5, and board members are welcoming all community members to join in the festivities.
The event will be held from 2 pm until 5 pm, and it will help to celebrate one of the most integral parts of Nampa, a facility that helps provide a great community space for hundreds of people each year.
“It’s a community building and people can come for a social gathering, exercise, or recreation,” say Nampa and District Agricultural Society Board Member Cliff Mikula. “It’s been an important building in our community for a long time.”
The day will include free coffee and other beverages with some light snacks. There will be free skating, free pickleball, and scrimmage hockey. There’s also something special being designed in the building by local artist Sherry Crawford, but it will only be unveiled during the ceremony.
The Community Complex has a rich history in the community. In 1973, Nampa and District Agricultural Society was formed to build the community complex in the community.
“At the time our pioneers in the community saw a need for a recreational facility and fundraised for materials to build such a place,” says Mikula, adding the building was completed and opened in 1975. “Much of the labour was supplied by volunteer labour from people in the community. It was built as an indoor multiuse facility, usable for many activities, which included a hockey arena, two surface curling rink, and an upstairs community hall.”
Fast forward 50 years and the complex has changed a little. The Nampa Community Complex is still owned and operated by the Nampa and District Agricultural Society, that is run by a board of volunteers mainly consisting of members from the user groups of the facility. The ice rink is still used for its original purpose, however; since its birth, the arena received new hockey boards as a donation by a rink that was closing in Peace River. Mikula says much of the work completed to install the new-to-them boards was donated by local volunteers.
“The curling rink was converted into a sports court a few years ago because the curling rink was no longer being used, and there was a high demand from the community,” says Nampa and District Agricultural Society President Dion Marcoux. “The sports court is used six nights a week for pickleball, and they also have a club.”
Marcoux adds the sports court can also be used for badminton, volleyball, or basketball. Special flooring was installed that Marcoux says is a rubberized substance that helps create a better surface to play various sports on. He says people from all over the area, including Peace River, Falher, and Grande Prairie come to play in the pickleball league.
Both Mikula and Marcoux say the Nampa Community Complex is one of the main attractions in the community in the winter. It caters to all levels of minor hockey, figure skating, ringette, pickleball players and also several community events that take place in the community hall. Both gentlemen say they’d like to see the facility used throughout the year and are continually looking for new ideas to rent out the building. Marcoux says in recent years the facility has been used for community Christmas parties, user groups year end parties and society board meetings. They are exploring the option of renting the hall for dryland training to increase usage and revenue. He says if there is serious interest and usage then they would explore purchasing mats and other equipment.
Marcoux explains increased rentals of the facility would help ensure the long-term viability of the facility and would also help fund necessary upgrades and maintenance.
Mikula notes the arena is currently in need of a new condenser, a piece of equipment that is instrumental in ice making and will cost nearly $260,000 to replace.
“If the condenser fails due to corrosion, we may have to shut down the ice arena for the season,” explains Mikula.
Mikula explains that they’ve applied for the Community Facility Enhancement Program grant through the Provincial government for half the total expenses and they’ve also been told by Northern Sunrise County that they would help fund half of the project.
“The application (for CFEP) is in, but we won’t know until December,” Mikula notes. “The bad thing with these grants you can’t apply for any other provincial grants until that project is finished. You can start your work but if they don’t fund it then we won’t have the funds to complete the project.”
Mikula explains five years ago they started looking into a new condenser, knowing the life expectancy of their existing one was quickly approaching, and then it was just $135,000 to replace. Now that same machine is worth nearly double, putting extra strain on the financial budget.
In addition to the condenser, Mikula says they will also have to do a compressor overhaul next year to the tune of $16,000, and white ice machine for $5,000, and would also like to repaint and sandblast the outside of the building. He notes that they do have a fundraising casino on Oct. 18 and 19 of this year that will help fund some of the repairs.
“We’re looking for more people to join our board,” says Marcoux. “There are some vacant spots and also some members who are hoping to retire soon, we’d like to see some new folks come to join our team.”
Marcoux says there are a number of advertising opportunities, and the Nampa and District Agricultural Society is always thankful for donations made to help with the complex. He says if anyone is interested in advertising on their hockey boards, to reach out to any member of their team to start the communication. Receipts for any donations can be issued, however; they note that they do not have a charitable donation status with Canada Revenue Agency.
“We have quite a bit of space remaining on the boards if people are interested in advertising,” says Marcoux. “We are hoping that we will be able to fill the remaining spots this winter.”
The Agricultural Society team works tirelessly year-round to ensure the facility is upgraded and maintained, applying for grants and completing a plethora of work, however; both Marcoux and Mikula note that they need more team members and help raising funds. Their current board executive includes Marcoux, Mikula, Vice President Simon Lavoie and Curtis Fortin, as well as other directors from the user groups. Marcoux says anyone interested in helping to ensure this facility can stay viable long-term should reach out to join their board.
If you’d like more information on advertisement opportunities, the 50th anniversary celebration, or would like to join the board, please reach out to Dion Marcoux at 780-625-4304 or Cliff Mikula at 780-617-2436.
