New ag business centre to update the grounds

Adelle Ellis
Times Reporter

 

Four 1,000 sq. ft. portable buildings will become the future home of the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society’s administrative centre.
The buildings will also house the campground office and retail space, administrative offices and community needs building.
The planned completion is expected by spring 2017, just in time for several major events being held at the agricultural grounds, including the annual Strathmore Stampede and Heritage Days.
“We hope to get fully underway in spring, although a specific schedule hasn’t been set yet. We still need to do some planning, so once that’s complete and we’re ready to go then we will get underway,” said Herb McLane, general manager of the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society.
The new ag business building project came into existence after it was determined there was a need to better serve the public of Strathmore and surrounding communities.
“Part of the reinvestment in the facilities on the park are, one, based on repair and renewal, and two, based on incremental additions to meet critical needs,” said McLane. “We have some vision that one of those new buildings will support our campground with possibly some retail space as well as a service capability for the campground. Some will be office space and some will be for community needs.”
Another project the society will be working on in 2017 is a link between two existing facilities on the ag grounds: the Remuda Centre, which is the main ticket booth and multi-use facility built in 2015, and the older yet still very functional livestock pavilion (LP).
“[The] link will physically link those two buildings and it will have some community space in it, as well as washrooms to support the other structures and facilities, so that we can more fully employ those facilities in terms of rental to the community,” said McLane.
These two new planned spaces being built will be used for a combination of community use as well as for public events that are held in the park.
The ag society will also be continuing with the renewal and possible updates of their year round and seasonal campground, as well as some future plans for the rodeo grounds and ball diamonds.
“[The] ball diamonds are very important to us. We have two major groups that utilize the facilities, among others: the minor ball association and the high school. And of course, slow-pitch tournaments are an important outreach and scheduling for us,” said McLane. “They bring in revenue that enables us to support the reinvestment in the park.
“In 2016 we had some gaps in our scheduling. And so we hope to fill that in 2017. We want to be fully employed and have the capacity to fully utilize.”
The ag society hopes that by completing the construction of these two new community buildings on the agricultural grounds, it will bring even more people to the grounds to fully utilize everything they offer, including their popular ball diamonds.
“We’ve talked about some possible expansion as well to the ball diamond complex. There are identified needs in the community for extra ball diamond facilities, so we will look at that as well,” said McLane.
All of the upcoming upgrades and improvements that will take place in 2017 and the following years will help the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society to better accommodate and bring in more events, baseball tournaments and people.
“Essentially [these upgrades are] to meet a demonstrated need and are revenue sources as well,” said McLane.
Improvements, upgrades and revenue sources couldn’t be more welcome for the ag society’s board after the challenging year 2016 brought about.
“The downturn in the economy as well as the extreme and dangerous weather experienced during the Stampede and Heritage Days in August contributed to losses incurred during the 2016 business year,” said McLane during the ag society’s annual general meeting (AGM) on Dec. 13.
Although there have been challenges this past year, the society and all its events and services are supported by the local community. Nothing is a better example of this than the support shown by the community after the vandalism to the lights display in the Christmas Park in November.
“So many in the community enjoy the display. The generous response by the public to the recent vandalism to the Christmas Park is also a testimony to the interest of citizens,” said Dennis McNeill, president of the Strathmore and District Agricultural Society, during the AGM.
The society is also planning new events for 2017 to celebrate “Canada 150.”
“The society is loved by many and we will be even more creative with future planning,” said McLane. “I wish to thank all of our dedicated volunteers and staff, without whom we would be unable to provide our services to the community.”