COCHRANE— Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre has taken the first steps of its phased and cautious reopening to the public.
The first section of the sports centre to open was the Cochrane Arena on Friday (June 12) as part of Stage Two of the Alberta Economic Relaunch, said Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre CEO Blair Felesky.
“Our members will not be coming back to the same place we left March 15,” Felesky said. “We’re just happy that we get to provide this platform again for our community to get physically and mentally fit again.”
The opening will take place under public health guidelines provided by the Government of Alberta.
The provincial government announced on Tuesday (June 9) Stage 2 of the Alberta Economic Relaunch would allow additional businesses and services to open their doors to the public as long as COVID-19 public health protocols are in place including two-metres of social distancing.
Stage 2 of the relaunch no includes indoor and outdoor recreation, fitness and sports centres, including gyms and swimming pools.
“The government surprised I think every rec facility across the province with accelerating things,” Felesky said. “It’s all very good news.”
In mid-July, the Totem Arena ice service will be activated to expand programs like hockey and figure skating. Fitness programs are expected to begin around July 1 and the Spray Park will also be opened at this time. The aquatics area of the facility is targeted to open around August 1.
Felesky added that different programs and phases will take place between July and August to help bring the sports centre back to life.
Other areas of the facility including the play care and the climbing wall will not be used during the summer because they are high touch and contact areas. He said they hope to open these areas around September 1.
The Cochrane Arena opened on Friday and is currently running programs.
“We always believed Cochrane arena was a good example where we could execute upon a most safe environment because of the control points,” Felesky said. “We've had plans intact for a number of weeks now.”
There is one user group in the arena for the next three weeks. The group submitted a robust health protocols plan and will serve as a litmus test to better understand and learn the best way to engage with public health measures at the facility.
“At the end of June we feel we are going to be very comfortable to continue to expand on all facets of our operation with some of the things we learned at Cochrane Arena,” Felesky said.
The facility has been preparing for a phased relaunch but did not anticipate that they would be open to open at the pace it did.
It will take time to adjust operations and condense the phases they have developed for reopening.
For now, Felesky said they are excited and grateful to have clarity on the operation and public health measures need for reopening.
The Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre had originally anticipated reopening on September 1 at a 50 per cent capacity based on the previous model for the Alberta Economic Relaunch.
“The world changed very quickly in the space of two-and-a-half-weeks,” Felesky said. “It is complicated but we’ll navigate through this.”
The centre is committed to educating members to create the safest environment possible.
Felesky said he hopes people return to the facility and feel good about the measures that have been taken to keep them safe. He added that he expects vulnerable demographics such as seniors may take longer to feel comfortable coming to the sports centre.
“Everybody has a different safety gauge,” Felesky said. “At the end of the day, we can only control from an operation standpoint some of those features— We can’t control some of the human decisions that come along the way.”
The most important aspect of the reopening is the Spray Lake Sawmills Family Sports Centre can begin to once again provide people with the opportunity to engage in physical literacy, Felesky said.
“We have a long way to go still of course,” Felesky said. “It feels lifeless. It feels very cold because there’s no energy from people and relationships— We’re looking forward to getting engaged again.”
