City partners with private company to operate new skating facility

The city handed over the keys to its newest recreation centre on Tuesday to the private company which will operate it, marking a first for the city.

"In every other case, our operators have been non-profit organizations — could be the YMCA, it could be a private recreation facility. This is the first time we've used a for-profit company, so this is one that people around the country are going to be looking at very, very carefully to see how well this model works," said Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi.

The Great Plains rec centre in the city's southeast, now run by Canlan Ice Sports, is open for bookings.  

The city invested $33 million into the 80,000-square-foot facility, which features two ice sheets, dry land training space, a pro shop, food and beverage services and meeting rooms.

Part of larger program

This is the second facility to open as part of a strategy to bring more recreation facilities to what the city says are "underserved areas of Calgary," after the Remington YMCA opened in Quarry Park in July.

• Universal locker rooms come to new Calgary Remington YMCA

The Rocky Ridge rec centre in the northwest and the Seton rec centre in the southeast are scheduled to open in 2017 and 2018 respectively, according to the city.

A grand opening event for the Great Plains facility is planned for November.

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