The Town of Drumheller has scheduled indoor recreation facilities to re-open on Wednesday, September 9.
This includes the Drumheller Memorial Arena, Drumheller Aquaplex, and the Badlands Community Facility.
“Based on the requirements set out in the Provincial Health Guidelines in June we felt we weren’t ready to re-open our indoor recreation facilities at that time and opened up the outdoor facilities, such as the spray park instead. Our recreation staff have now returned and are developing and implementing measures to ensure that our facilities are set up safely for the public and our staff, explained Darryl Drohomerski, CAO Town of Drumheller. “I ask for people’s patience as this has been a large undertaking and staff are having to adapt to a completely new way of using the facilities.”
“We are very excited to be back and can’t wait to welcome people back to our facilities,” added Darren Goldthorpe, Manager of Recreation, Arts, and Culture. “There will be significant changes to the user experience in order to meet the health guidelines. We will be launching an information campaign to show people what these changes are and we ask users to make themselves aware of the new procedures in advance. Users can expect some schedule adjustments, capacity limitations, and some equipment will be out of use for the time being. We ask for everyone’s patience as work through everything in a safe manner.”
The biggest adjustment for users is that they will have to reserve their time in the recreation facilities online prior to arrival.
“The ability to contact trace and to maintain proper capacity numbers is a huge part of the relaunch,” Goldthorpe continues. “Through our online portal, users can reserve their spots within our facilities and drop-in classes. Our staff are going through training to assist all of our patrons with this new process.”
Members will be contacted regarding their memberships as the weeks continue, however, Mayor and Council have agreed to waive admission fees for drop-in and members for the entire month of September.
In June the Province of Alberta announced Stage 2 of the Provincial Relaunch Strategy would begin on Friday, June 12, 2020. This announcement moved a number of Stage 3 items to Stage 2 including outdoor recreation, fitness, and sports centres.
The Town of Drumheller will be updating their website and social media channels as soon as information is available. Please visit www.drumheller.ca, follow us on Facebook, and Twitter for up to date and accurate information.