The fate of the Preston Kinsmen Centre took centre ice during the city's first public meeting on the 2023 budget Thursday night as several members of the Preston Figure Skating Club pleaded with councillors to save the building that has served as meeting and storage space for the club since 1991.
The club's board of directors was told last July the Hamilton Street building will have to come down to make room for parking at the expanded Preston Memorial Auditorium.
Construction on the auditorium is slated to begin this year to add a second ice pad and several upgrades.
Jen Tahiraj, president of the club's board of directors, told councillors the club was assured the building wouldn’t be impacted by the expansion, but during a meeting last July with staff, they were told otherwise.
The Kinsmen Centre was built 30 years ago as a rental hall with dedicated space for the club, which contributed $50,000 toward the cost of construction to secure a long term lease. The $1 annual lease was eventually waived by the city but the club continues to pay all utilities and all interior maintenance.
Kinsmen club members were told they will have an opportunity to book a room at the expanded arena when it opens but it would come at a cost.
"We are here today because we were blindsided by this decision," Tahiraj said. "Without a comparable space, we won’t be able to carry on at the same level."
The centre has been used by the Preston Figure Skating Club (PFSC) from the beginning, for meetings, prop storage and a sewing centre for costumes used in the club’s annual skating carnivals.
Its proximity to the arena allows skaters to walk from auditorium into the centre to get their costume fittings done. Props are sometimes eight feet tall, and the club has two golf carts that they use for various performances. The 20-foot ceilings at the prop shed accommodate construction, painting and welding.
To compensate for the lost space in the two years the auditorium will be under construction, the club was offered a free meeting room at the Scout House, which is a few blocks away.
But club members say that solution isn’t feasible because it doesn't have storage and it's unfair to expect children and parents to shuttle back and forth to Karl Homuth Arena, where they will be practicing during the construction. Props would have to be built and stored at the Kin National headquarters in Riverside Park, a 10-minute drive away from the aud.
A location to host the club's annual gala hasn't been worked out either. Spectators for the show, which is considered "the number one amateur ice show in North America," fill the 900 seats at the Preston aud. Only Galt Arena Gardens has comparable spectator space.
"The way the city did this was not fair and was not equitable to figure skating," board member Jenn Dorst told council. "It’s as if we didn’t exist and I don’t think that’s right. We’re very hurt to be put aside."
Several delegations followed the board to echo their plea to councillors to help find a solution, including Michelle McDonald- Wheeler, a former Canadian figure skating champion who is now a coach and choreographer with the PFSC.
McDonald-Wheeler told council the city's decision to demolish the Preston Kinsmen Centre has the potential to cripple the club, just as it emerges from the pandemic to prepare its 60th ice show and its first since 2019.
The Preston Figure Skating Club has trained competitors at the Olympic Winter Games, the International circuit and the World events since 1974.
"I’m concerned about the logistics and the club’s ability to fully run their incredible gala ice show in Preston ever again," she said. "Why would you want to take away something that is so positive for young children and young athletes."
"Ultimately we’re asking for the demolition to be deferred until other options are considered," Tahiraj said.
The city's budget and audit committee plans to consider the request as part of capital budget deliberations next week.
