A group of Humboldt residents representing several community organizations invites the public from in and around Humboldt to an important meeting on a future multipurpose complex for arts, sports and wellness. The Future Community Facilities Open House is slated for Tuesday, May 13 at the Humboldt Uniplex Convention Centre Meeting Rooms. The meeting begins at 7:00 pm.
Over the years since 2018, there has been much discussion of the creation of a tribute centre for the 2017-2018 Humboldt Broncos in an appropriate site in the city. The most likely candidate was as a new addition to the existing Uniplex.
In the years that have followed, various needs for the community have emerged, including a multipurpose athletic facility for training, a wellness centre to support the community, a second ice surface and a performing arts centre. To that end, various groups have evolved in the hopes of generating interest and possibly dollars to support a future project.
Now, Kurt Leicht with the Humboldt Broncos Memorial Commitee and Michael Ulriksen, Director of Leisure Services say it’s time to bring individuals and community representatives together to create a unified vision of a centre or centres that would meet as many needs as possible. The key focuses are arts, wellness and sports.
“We don’t want to miss out on any ideas,” says Leicht when he approaches such a multi-faceted venture. “We have lots of athletes going to Saskatoon to train; we really don’t have a good place to do theatre and arts. As a Humboldt Bronco Memorial group, we really have no place to display a lot of the items we’ve received.”
From the City of Humboldt’s perspective, there has been considerable discussion about amenities for the residents. Other considerations are creating active seniors through agencies like the Sask Seniors Mechanism and a second ice surface to meet increased demand.
“Part of the purpose of the open house is to identify those champions in the community – those individuals to drive the next step forward,” says Ulriksen. “The reality of the open house is that we’re trying to commit a kind of steering committee, a group to say here are all the ideas – let's try to figure out how we package that, and how do we start the ball rolling to see that development and fundraising.”
Ulriksen said to rely on the City of Humboldt staff and administration for all the ideas is not the correct strategy given the community’s and region’s understanding of the needs and desires.
Ulriksen admits that some of the champions of past projects have moved on or have stepped aside. Now, it’s time to make way for another generation of community leaders to step up and rally residents to share their ideas and work with the City and community organizations to bring them to fruition.
“We know we have amazing organizations in town and amazing people in these organizations,” Ulriksen affirms. “Now it’s time to figure out how we bring all those voices together around the table and come up with one project, one focus to put our collective energy towards.
Before the City or community organizations can apply for grants or financial support, it’s important for that unified vision to be realized. Joint use facilities with various agencies on board have a better track record in securing that sort of funding, hence the need for all hands on deck.
“If the City of Humboldt says we have an idea, let’s see if it sticks, it doesn’t often stick,” Ulriksen admits. “When we have all these organizations behind us who are already fundraising and moving forward with a vision, every grant opportunity that comes at that point is far more likely to be successful.”
Leicht reinforced the idea that there needs to be representation from local communities, not just Humboldt residents.
“We’re still going to need to use rural facilities, but surrounding communities will still need us for extra facilities to work together and grow.”
Ulriksen reflects on all of the recreational amenities that have been put in place on the backs of community spirit and volunteerism through groups. Whether it’s pickleball courts at Water Ridge Park, baseball diamonds at Centennial Park, playgrounds at Bill Brecht Park, all of those have been realized through the vision of a community group. Leicht and Ulriksen are hoping to marshal those resources once again to meet as many needs as possible.
The open house takes place on Tuesday, May 13, at 7 pm at the Uniplex.