Hundreds of Westlock-area residents got a look inside the new Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre earlier this month, and the overwhelming reaction was positive.
Wayne Peyre, president of the Spirit of Westlock Foundation, said he was pleased with both the reactions and the attendance figures from the Feb. 19 open house.
“We had around 400 people going through,” he said. “We were unsure of what kind of numbers we’d get, but we were pretty pleased with that.”
As far as the reactions go, he said he was pleased with how residents responded to the tour.
“I think for the majority of people, it was kind of an eye opener as to how big the facility is and how many it accommodates,” he said. “The people who came out were all very excited — probably the kids more than anybody were really excited about seeing what their future looks like.”
Indeed, several members of the Westlock Atom Selects took the tour of the new facility after their afternoon home game, and their excitement was obvious.
Blair Boulerice shared his plans for when he hits the ice next fall.
“I’m going to get a lot of goals in this arena,” he said. “It’s going to be awesome — like a mini Rexall Place.”
Cade McNelly said the facility will be a huge step up from the 60-year-old Jubilee Arena.
“I like that there’s a field house, and I like how big it is,” he said.
Keenan Fortier seemed more concerned that his prospective fans were going to have enough room.
“With all the seating, this will be way better,” he said.
Many of the adults in attendance shared in this excitement, even if their reactions were somewhat less exuberant.
Luke Baron, who admitted his opinion could be biased since his father Glenn is on the fundraising committee, said he knew the facility would be great but seeing it in person confirmed that.
“I worked at Servus Place in St. Albert and this is great by comparison,” he said. “As far as I can tell, they’re doing a great job.”
Peyre said at this point there are no more open house tours planned between now and the grand opening, which is scheduled for June 2, but said that is not written in stone.
“We’ll have to take a look at it and see if there’s any demand,” he said. “We’ll make that determination probably in the next two weeks.”
