City emergency management director Merrick Brown presents to city council on Tuesday.--News Photo Collin Gallant
cgallant@medicinehatnews.com@CollinGallant
An apparent disconnect about who can eat at which city arena is the result of how provincial regulations are written and decisions made by the city, officials said this week.
City councillors say they have heard increasing complaints and questions about concessions at arenas being open while others are closed.
Patrons can bring a cup of coffee into one, but not another, despite there being much more room to spread out.
Public services managing director Brian Mastel explained to council that distinctions and specifics of the facilities are the determining factor according to provincial guidelines. The city manages those with service in mind, but rules are rules.
Under them, the city would have the option to serve food at Co-op Place, but only if they reduced capacity at the 6,000-seat spectator arena to 500, rather than half.
That’s not feasible considering crowd size required to maintain the economics of remaining open, said Mastel.
In early December the province brought in new restrictions to combat a rise in Omicron variant by limiting the size on indoor gatherings.
That meant sports and other large venues would have capacity cut in half with food service barred, while at other smaller venues capacity would be set at a maximum of 500, with concessions available.
In Medicine Hat, that meant Co-op Place and the Esplanade Theatre would see attendance halved, while other fitness centres and community arenas come under a limit of 499 patrons, though food and drink are allowed.
“Throughout the pandemic we’ve followed the provincial health restrictions pretty much to a ‘T’,” said Merrick Brown, the city’s director of emergency management. “We’re like any other venue or business in the city. Our staff have gotten pretty good at it, not that it’s a positive thing … but that’s the reality now.”
Mastel also explained that Co-op Place is not technically considered similar to a food court in a mall, where individuals in large crowds can order and eat meals.
All city facilities employ the restrictions exemption program, whereby adult attendees must show proof of vaccination status or a recent negative test result.
The Hockey Hounds arena sees much smaller crowds than 500, but making matters more complex is the fact that the Kinplex concession is operated by a contractor, not city staff, and so the policies may differ.
The city also considers the Big Marble Go Centre to have several “compartmentalized” areas, meaning its capacity limit for the entire former Family Leisure Centre is higher than for a traditional single facility.
