Edgeworth Centre
Building For the Future ... Today!

Video of the Edgeworth Centre(7.45 MB) Click to View (High Speed Internet Connection and RealOne Player)

The Edgeworth Centre is a major component of a larger plan that includes the development of a future "Leisure Campus" concept. This plan includes the eventual construction of a publicly accessible University Wellness Centre that includes classrooms, laboratories and wellness-focused programming. The Edgeworth Centre will be connected to the existing Camrose Recreation Centre (arena and curling rink) and plans also include a connection to the present Aquatic Centre, forming a larger unified sport and leisure complex.

Edgeworth Centre will be located in Rudy Swanson Park, a very large park space central to the City. It is close to the university campus and other schools and is easily accessed by visitors to the community. Parking capacity will be expanded and paved to accommodate facility users and spectators.

1. A new multi-use Major Spectator Events Arena having a NHL-sized ice surface and bowl seating configuration and a "sky seating" area to accommodate a total of 2500+ spectators for major sport competitions and concerts.
   
   
2. A new 300 seat User Arena, to accommodate community sports programming.
   
   
3. A unifying lobby area to connect the Major Spectator Events Arena, the new User Arena, the existing curling rink, the Aquatic Centre, and the following new facilities:
   
   
   • A three-lane Fitness Track will provide broader fitness role by allowing residents, young and old, to get their daily walk/run regardless of the weather conditions.
   • A Fitness Centre to accommodate a wide variety of fitness and wellness activities.
   • A Physiotherapy Clinic and a Physiology Lab (Augustana Faculty of the University of Alberta).
   • New multi-purpose Meeting Rooms and Community Program Rooms for use by the community and Augustana Faculty.
   • New Concourse and a Food and Beverage Services Area.
   • A Children's Playroom to accommodate parents partaking in fitness activities or attending various events in the complex.
   • Team and Coach Rooms for the Kodiaks Junior Hockey Club, the Augustana Vikings and the Viking Cup International Hockey Tournament.
   • Many Change Rooms and support spaces to accommodate figure skating, ice-hockey, lacrosse, in-line hockey and other visiting teams or individual competitors.
   • A multi-purpose Lounge on the second floor for the convenience of the facility spectators and users.

The Edgeworth Centre will be accessible to ALL residents. The modern and upgraded building complex will be energy-efficient, environmentally friendly and "intelligent" to improve operating cost efficiencies. The Edgeworth Centre is supported by a comprehensive Business Plan to ensure that the facility is operated at a minimum cost to ratepayers. As explained in the section entitled The Impact of Edgeworth Centre, it is designed to meet local needs and become an integral part of a comprehensive plan to support athletic excellence in Alberta and Canada.

1. Several studies of the recreation needs of Camrose and area residents were conducted in the past seven years. These studies revealed the need for a new comprehensive complex that will address immediate and long-term community needs. There is an immediate need for more sport surfaces. Local and regional demands for ice-time and hard surfaces for the growing sports of in-line hockey and lacrosse far outstrip availability of existing arenas. The Wild Rose Arena, one of the oldest arenas in Canada (82 years old) is at the end of its lifespan and needs to be replaced within a few years.
   
   
2. The recent merger of Augustana College with the University of Alberta in Camrose will create additional pressure to establish an all-season indoor wellness facility to accommodate a projected increased enrolment.
   
   
3. Edgeworth Centre will serve to enhance physical education programs of local and regional schools at all levels.
   
   
4. Camrose does not currently have a quality indoor venue for major spectator and performance events.
   
   
5. The Camrose region is growing at a steady and progressive rate. The current population of the City is well over 15,000 people. The projection is that the number of residents in the city will double within the span of a generation (Brown and Associates Study 2003). This new facility will serve a growing number of city and county residents.
   
   
6. Camrose is a retirement community. Today, over 18% of our residents are seniors. This facility will provide opportunity to organize and deliver a variety of indoor health and fitness programs specifically geared to meet the demands of this deserving and increasingly active population segment.
   
   
7. Camrose has an outstanding reputation as a place to foster the development of young athletes in a variety of sports. Its successful staging of the bi-annual International Viking Cup Hockey Tournament is a fine example. Camrose is also the home of the successful Camrose Kodiak, a Jr. 'A' Hockey Club franchise, the Augustana Vikings and growing minor hockey and skating club programs. The Max McLean Arena, a 38 year old facility where these activities currently take place, needs mechanical, electrical and washroom upgrades, better seating and a new concourse. It is outmoded for spectator events and hosting junior-level and international hockey tournaments and large regional ice-oriented events.
   
   
8. It is becoming increasingly important to provide opportunities for exercise-oriented, low-impact opportunities for a very busy middle-aged population and to address the problem of an increasingly inactive youth population.
   
   
9. The need to have recreation facilities housed under the same roof is fast becoming a reality in Canada. Municipalities recognize the need to cater to all age-groups under one roof. While mom and/or dad exercise in the fitness centre, another member of their family may partake in another activity down the hall. It supports families, affords opportunity for socialization and attracts spectators. Increasingly, people want to engage in spontaneous (as opposed to organized) programs that require little advance planning. This new facility will provide the flexibility of accommodating busy lifestyles for young families while serving the needs of seniors, students and aspiring athletes.
   
   

• Immediately, the Centre will serve a regional population of 40,000 including the City of Camrose and the surrounding area.
• It will provide opportunities to improve the health of the population.
• The Viking Cup, a world-class Hockey Canada-sanctioned, international bi-annual event is poised to expand and to establish a new division for an international college/university tournament. The new Centre can accommodate this planned expansion.
• The new Centre will enhance the teaching interests in health and fitness of Augustana Faculty of the University of Alberta. This includes a long-term plan for a Centre for Aging and Physical Activity and expanding their collegiate sports programs.
• The "big event" facility in Camrose will attract concerts, trade shows and other performances. Camrose is poised to capitalize on its reputation as a successful host of major "big events".

• The Centre can become recognized as a Centre of Sport Development Excellence for the training for athletes. Hockey Alberta has an interest in establishing the facility in Camrose as Regional Sport Development Centre for emerging athletes and Hockey Canada is interested in establishing it as a Provincial Sport Development Centre.
  
  
• Cross-County Skiing Canada and the Canadian University Athletics Association have expressed interest in having Camrose become a centre for the training of elite athletes for Nordic events. Camrose, with its strong Scandinavian roots, has first-rate cross country skiing trails and the expertise to help this become a reality. The weight-training, fitness and teaching areas of the Edgeworth Centre support this plan.
  
  
• The economic impact will be substantial. It will have a positive economic impact by drawing developers to locate in the community, attracting and retaining businesses and supporting plans to expand the Augustana Faculty of the University of Alberta. The Sport Tourism Market is expanding and Camrose is poised to capitalize on this opportunity. The co-location of three arenas under one roof will provide the critical mass needed to attract large-scale hockey tournaments and figure skating competitions and creates further opportunities to attract regional, provincial and national sport training camps and clinics. The conservative economic impact of the new facility is modestly projected to be over $2,300,000 per year (Conrad and Associates). Over the lifespan of the facility, this amounts to more than $57,000,000 being injected into the regional economy.
  
  

The Latest - Bids to host two major events have already been submitted to two Sport Governing bodies. If successful in these bids, these events will bring to Camrose both national recognition and significant sport tourism dollars. If unsuccessful with their bids, both groups have indicated that they will be re-applying for the following year. The bidding for, and hosting of, events of this nature would not be possible if the Edgeworth Centre was not being constructed… and this is only the beginning!!

Event Ideas Welcome - If you have any ideas for a sport, cultural or community event, large or small, that can be hosted in this new facility, please forward your ideas to:

The Edgeworth Centre is an excellent investment opportunity for individuals, corporations, businesses and foundations. As part of the community investment strategy, we are offering naming opportunities at donor/sponsor values.

To meet and reach our goal objective, the Edgeworth Centre needs community support for various venues of the facility as outlined in the Sponsor/Donor Gift and Recognition Table. Naming/branding opportunities range from $250 to one million dollars - the greater the level of support, the greater the naming opportunity value.

Our fundraising campaign will appear on this site in the near future.

For more information please contact:

	City of CamroseWelcomeVisitorsCommunityAdministrationLeisureEngineeringProtective            We welcome your feedback Updated January 16, 2008