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BIG CITY, BIG EVENTS, BIG AMENITIES, BIG FUTURE PROGRESS 2019  Page 20


Dreamof a first-class recreationfacility inLethbridge nowa reality asATBCentre Phase 2opens tothepublic


Tim Kalinowski LETHBRIDGE HERALD


tkalinowski@lethbridge herald.com


ith the completion of Phase 2, the ATB Centre is finally


ready tomeet the recreation needs of Lethbridge residents, both nowand in the future. “It has been absolutely


exciting to see this project completed,” says City of Lethbridge director of community servicesTony VandenHeuvel. “The planning for Phase 2


startedway back in 2008. That’swhenwe started going around and looking at other facilities across the province, andwhat it could be.We had needs assessment done in 2011 and the Recreation and CultureMaster Plan followed that.” “All spoke of the need for


this type of facility in the community,” he states. “To see council approve it in 2012 in the Capital Improvement Program, and for this to come out of the ground fromdirt to what it is today, has been exciting towatch.” “Nowthat this complete


there are nomore phases— thiswhole facility is nowthe ATB Centre. It is a fully functional facilitywith both the ice side and the aquatics and leisure side.” The CorVan RaayYMCA


component of Phase 2 opened to the public onMay 4, and already there is a buzz in the community about the wide array of amenities on offer, saysYMCA Lethbridge board chair StephenMogdan. “We’re tracking reallywell in


Herald photo by Ian Martens


terms ofwhat our anticipated membership numberswere,” he confirms. “At this point,we have crested over 4,000 members.Within that number is approximately 2,500 newmembers,which is really great being inside of a fewweeks of opening the new facility.” “We’re really happywith


The Cor Van Raay YMCA opened to the public this spring in the completed Phase 2 of the ATB Centre. The large-scale fitness area


where thosemembership numbers are at this point becausewe see it is still growing quite a bit.” VandenHeuvel says it is not


a surprise Lethbridge residents havewarmed to the newfacility so quickly. “We have listened towhat the community said on this,”


he states. “We’ve brought a world-class facility into the community. And it is aligned this the values of family recreation and fitness, healthy lifestyles, healthy choices— you can see fromthe utilization and responses frombefore the opening day when theYMCA was doing tours on this side that folks are blown away.” The $150-million facility is


the third largestYMCA-run leisure centre in Canada.The massive project boasts a first- class aquatic centrewith waterslides, awave pool, a lazy river, a lap pool and a surf simulator among other amenities.


on the second floor boasts the newest equipment tomeet every training level and need, and there is amassive gymnasiumwhich includes six basketball courts and other sports areas. VandenHeuvel sayswhile


the projectmay seemmassive in scope at themoment, he expects itwill fit the needs of the city just right as the community continues to grow year after year. “We right-sized it,” he says.


“We didn’t look at justwhat we needed today.We looked at the factwe are a growing community andwe are cresting past the 100,000


mark.We are anticipating what the community is going to look like in the future and what the needs are going to be in the future.” “When you go through a


project of this size and this magnitude, andwith the construction dollars it takes, it makes sense to do it right,” he adds. “Froma construction side,


this is themost ambitious (municipal) project that has been done in the city’s history. When youwalk around and see everything here, you can’t help but be impressed.” Mogdan says his goal is to


get 10 per cent of Lethbridge’s residents signed up forYMCA memberships as people realize howgreat the facilities, equipment and programming really are at the ATB Centre. “I have always looked at the


opening as not the end of our work, but the beginning of ourwork,” he says. “We have had the


opportunity to partnerwith the City in this amazing facility—this really put a lot of thought into this and really planned it outwell. It really shows.” “But nowthat it is open,” he


explains, “it is incumbent on us as an organization to continue reaching out to the community, bring people in, and get theminterested in the aquatics, fitness, the programming, our day camps, our childminding—all of that stuff—andwe are certainly hopeful that is going to translate into a lotmore memberships.” “I knowifwe had had this


facilitywhenmy kidswere little tikes, Iwould have been there daily in the summertime,”Mogdan says.


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