46 replies to this topic

[dukesmaster]

footings have been poured

[Mike K.]

Thanks for the update!

It'll be nice to have a bowling alley in the city once again.

[sebberry]

Thanks for the update!

It'll be nice to have a bowling alley in the city once again.

Isn't there still a small one in Langford?

[aastra]

Isn't there one in Sidney?

Like so:
http://www.flickr.co...N00/2519811317/

[Mike K.]

The tiny alley in Sidney is too far removed from my place (nearly 30k).

[dukesmaster]

20 ten pin lanes going in. 4 will be classified as executive. i guess that means league play. full size nhl rink with seating for 200+-. the ice will connect from rink to out door rink (splash park in summer ice rink in winter)

[seymour201]

Looky Looky, theres a webcam

http://district.lang...tionWebCam.html

[Bingo]

Langford's $14-million City Centre Sportplex remains on budget and is expected to open this July. It houses 20 lanes of 10 pin bowling, an indoor ice rink and an outdoor ice-rink in winter that becomes a water park in the summer. Also included is a dry floor arena, mini golf, and an artificial turf stadium.

This complex was a 3 way split with the provincal and the federal governments contributing 8.9 million, and Langford about $4.5 million.
The cost for Langford to borrow $3.9 million over 20 years is $292,100 annually, which is expected to be recovered from operating revenues of about $350,000 a year.

This is a fine example of what was possible with the stimulus funding program.

Add to this the report that Langford Council has approved a budget that reduces taxes to the homeowner by.23%.

Langford is reporting the most housing starts in the region, and a lot of new businesses.

for more;
http://www.timescolo...9880/story.html

and;
http://www.cfax1070....news&Itemid=155

[spanky123]

Unfortunately Stu is math challenged.

He says that the cost of borrowing the money is $292K which will be recovered from revenues which are projected to be $350K . What about the costs of operating the complex?!

I am not arguing that this is not a valuable asset to residents, but it seems that Langofrd is really good at getting things built while fogetting about the ongoing maintenance and operations costs.

This is an election year and no doubt a property tax decrease sounds like a good idea, but the reality is that Langford has spent all of its reserves and is fully dependant on new development to simply pay existing bills. They would be far better off to plan small annual cost of living increases in taxes to at least start building back their accounts.

[seymour201]

spanky, Langford built and is leasing the building to a separate company. That company is in charge of the running of the building, and the city and that company split any upgrading that they need to do in the future, the city isn't on hook for the maintenance.

[spanky123]

Seymour

The terms of the agreement have changed over time but from the Langford website:

An added bonus is that the City of Langford's monetary contribution to the Sportsplex will be replenished by partnering with the new managers of the facility, XCalibur Bowling and Entertainment. Through a revenue sharing agreement, the City of Langford's loan costs will be covered and no capital costs will be paid by Langford taxpayers.

Perhaps I am reading too much into this but since it only said that no capital costs would be borne by taxpayers, I assumed that operating costs would at least be shared. If in fact Xcalibur is on the hook for all operating and maintenance costs and pays $350K a year for the operating rights then it is hard to argue with that deal.

[seymour201]

Grand Opening Tomorrow!

I got a chance to go in there on Tuesday or Wendsday for something work related and found it to be pretty nice. Cook offered us some free lunch as they were trying out all the recipies and it just happened to be lunch time. Got a quesidiall with bbq sauce and cooked onions. YUMMY!

Grand Opening is tomorrow and its sounds like it will be quite busy.

TC story

Langford gets ready for Sportsplex hoopla


By Derek Spalding, timescolonist.com October 21, 2011

http://www.timescolo...4322/story.html

[Mike K.]

A lot of people look forward to checking this place out.

[maniac78]

I bowled at the new bowling alley over the weekend and it's very, very nice. The automatic scoring system is pretty slick. Pretty cool to bowl with new balls, new shoes and a new lane. I believe the official opening is still a week away.

There's an area seperate from the main alley with 5 lanes maybe with couches for seating. It'd be a great space for party rentals.

[sirswithin]

Bowled at the new Langford Lanes last weekend (and boy do I suck!). There were tons of people there but if you make a reservation (put your name on the list) they'll call you when a lane becomes available. Haven't tried the restaurant yet but the menu looks pretty good ($6.99 for a pint of beer though). Had lots of fun and plan on going back. Really, where else are you going to bowl?

[Bingo]

Had lots of fun and plan on going back. Really, where else are you going to bowl?

Mayfair Lanes closed down 5 years ago, and the land is still empty

[spanky123]

I think that the problem is that bowling has become so expensive over the years that many people have lost interest. 4 people with shoe rental are going to run $40+ for 1 game. Perhaps leagues and parties will carry the day.

[Bingo]

I think that the problem is that bowling has become so expensive over the years that many people have lost interest. 4 people with shoe rental are going to run $40+ for 1 game.

You could save some money by bowling barefoot.

[seymour201]

We found by the hour was a bit cheaper, plus if you get the same ditzy waitress we had you get 2 for one beer

[Sparky]

Do they serve you beer while you are bowling as long as you have your shoes on?