A hockey academy and a fitness facility are moving into Vernon’s newest arena.
The City of Vernon has reached agreements with two businesses to occupy the lease spaces in the new Kal Tire Place expansion.
Pursuit of Excellence Hockey Academy and the Training House (formerly Excel Fitness) will move into the two spaces and open their doors for business this fall.
“The inclusion of the two value-added spaces in the facility was identified during the feasibility study,” said Doug Ross, director of recreation services. “The concept to mix commercial space within a public building is a trend in recreation. The goal being that the commercial spaces will generate some additional user visits and revenue through the lease and potential use of the ice.
“We couldn’t be happier. Both tenants are extremely well respected in their fields and will generate additional rentals for non-prime time ice.”
“The past few months have been a flurry of activity as we worked towards this transition from Excel Fitness,” said Carla Rayner, owner. “The Training House will be a high-quality training centre located in the new Kal Tire expansion.”
“With the opening of the Training House, Vernon will now be able to compete with larger cities by offering a substantial benefit to serious athletes who want to stay, play and train in a family-friendly destination while having access to high quality, science-driven programming,” said Rhonda Catt, owner.
Having an agreement to lease space within the new arena allows POE a place to store the players’ hockey gear during the week and provides an additional area where teams can do skills before or after their ice sessions.
“This new agreement with the City of Vernon is very significant because we will now have three of our six POE Academy Teams practicing out of Vernon, and we will have a minimum of 31 of our Canada Sport School Hockey League games and at least two Showcases (tournaments) in the Kal Tire Place arenas,” said David Roy, POE chief executive officer.
The lower lease space that will be occupied by Pursuit of Excellence is 1,820 square feet and the upper lease space that will be occupied by the Training House is approximately 3,350 square.
Both spaces are located on the north end of the facility, which is currently under construction and is scheduled to open on Sept. 1.
The facility is also home to the Greater Vernon Minor Hockey Association, who will have free use of a 600 square-foot office space and 400 square-foot storage area within the facility.
GVMHA made a $25,000 donation to the project.