If the Owen Sound Coliseum is to be saved — people or groups interested in being part of that process must act soon.
City council has set a deadline for business plans to be submitted for the operation of the aging facility at Victoria Park.
The Coliseum is slated to be demolished upon the completion of the Regional Recreation Centre — but the city will consider proposals to take over its ownership and operation.
Those proposals, however, must be received by April 4th.
Councillor Jim McManaman — the chair of the city’s recreation and parks committee as well as of the regional rec centre steering committee — says the city has long said the Coliseum’s fate is not necessarily set in stone.
He says they will review proposals for the preservation of the building, but the process cannot go on indefinitely.
To date, no proposals have been submitted, although McManaman says some groups have expressed interest and may soon step forward.
He won’t comment on who those groups might be or what they might have in mind for the building.
A recent Victoria Park visioning meeting brought out a number of possible ideas, such as indoor soccer, indoor fastball, lacrosse and gymnastics.
But it’s possible someone could convert it to a non-recreational use.
McManaman says it’s important that proposals be viable over the long term, because the city is not interested in being responsible for any capital or operating costs once someone else takes the Coliseum over.
And the city also does not want to be on the hook if a new venture fails at some point in the near future.
