Edmonton Ski Club needs financial support for new lodge
Posted August 23, 2022 7:53 pm.
The future of the Edmonton Ski Club could be going downhill if they don’t get the financial support from the City of Edmonton to keep them running.
The Ski Club is asking the city to pay $800,000 over the next three years to demolish the existing lodge, which has been condemned by the city due to structural damage beyond repair.
The remaining funds will go towards a temporary space for washrooms and a warming station until a new permanent lodge is built. “We could probably limp along without adequate facilities but I think the broader question is, as an individual or a parent or family, would you feel inclined to bring your family down to participate in this sport that is cold, where there is no adequate warm-up space or adequate washrooms to access?,” says Zoe Sloan, the General Manager at the Edmonton Ski Club.
The club is looking to build a new $15 million ski lodge, with the federal government contributing $6.6 million.
“We have outlived the facilities at the Edmonton Ski Club. Part of those buildings have been condemned, in my mind it sends the wrong message to those youth who in many cases have barriers to participate,” says Jennifer Heil, an Olympic Medallist who grew up skiing at the Edmonton Ski Club.
“When you’re bringing user groups who have significant barriers to accessing sport, and recreation, bringing them into a facility that is hanging on by a thread doesn’t convey that they have a sense of value so this helps boulsler the self-esteem of users, and the self-esteem of our city really,” says Zoe Sloan.
The city’s Urban Planning Committee voted unanimously in favour of the request. It will now be brought to the city’s budget discussions this fall.
“It is something a lot of people enjoy and when you talk about livability you have to go back to the things that give people pleasure and folk fest, Edmonton Ski Club is so central in the city and we know it’s something that gives people pleasure,” says Sarah Hamilton, an Edmonton City Councillor.
According to a city report, if the ski hill doesn’t receive the requested funds to allow the demolition of their lodge, they will be unable to operate this upcoming winter.
