It was interesting to listen to Yorkton Terrier Club president Lyle Walsh Friday as he gave his remarks to the large crowd gathered for the annual team awards banquet.
While Walsh of course reflected on the team's success winning the Canalta Cup as Saskatchewan Junior Hockey League champs, and thanked everyone from players to sponsors to fans, he also looked to the future.
Walsh said it was time for the team to set a goal of having new dressing rooms built for the team. He said the existing facilities are small, out-of-date and that simply it is past time better ones were built.
"This hockey club needs a new dressing room. Over the past few years we have given the old room a couple of face-lifts but everything has a shelf life and this one is all but over," he said.
Walsh's comments were not the first time the need for new dressing rooms have been brought forward, although with the cost beyond the Terrier Club's to handle, and to-date limited interest from the City to take on the project, the dressing rooms project has been in limbo.
"Over the past 10 years dressing room talk has come up and discussed but never really gets very far down the road," he said.
The cost ultimately can't fall to any one group, and will need partnerships, something Walsh said it was time to forge.
"We must now work together to form partnerships and someone get the team what it deserves in the way of a new dressing room. We always say we're short of money or so many other excuses. But we need it We have to work closely with the Gallagher Centre to even get started on a project like this, but that can happen," said Walsh.
New dressing rooms are just one of the projects at the Gallagher Centre which gets talked about for a time, and then shifted to the back-burner with little action being taken.
As an example there has been talk, even at the table of Yorkton Council, about creating corporate boxes at the Farrell Agencies Arena.
Current rink design makes that a challenge, but if the east wall were to be moved in order to create the type of under-the-stands dressing room complex needed, then one would anticipate the corporate boxes become more viable.
Such a combined project will increase costs, but we are talking a long term investment is a key recreational facility in the city, with corporate boxes being for far more than Junior Terrier games.
As part of the same expansion discussion must come a real hard look at whether Yorkton needs a third ice surface?
If the answer is yes, as we envision a population pushing toward 25,000, and we have Mayor Bob Maloney telling the Yorkton Chamber of Commerce luncheon recently that the Good Spirit School Division, has seen student enrollment in the city up 48 over last year, and the Division is expecting a 23 per cent growth by 2021, then would seem to make the greatest sense as part of the Gallagher Centre.
While the Gallagher Centre expansion was not so long ago, few improvements were made to the Farrell Agencies Arena at the time, which means the time to address arena needs is now.
Then there is still the need to give the Gallagher Centre back its soul.
The former Agriplex was tied to the city's sport and agricultural history by trophy and photo displays for the swim club, figure skating, minor hockey, Junior Terrier and Exhibition Association.
Those displays still need to be re-created.
And in terms of history, the much-talked about move of the Yorkton Sports Hall of Fame and Museum to the Gallagher Centre is long overdue. The materials in the local museum need the added exposure the Centre would provide, and would give patrons at events something enjoyable to take in between periods and games.
It is time for a plan with a solid timetable to continue making the Gallagher Centre a central aspect of our community's sport and recreation.
