Six-figure budget for a Penticton post-pandemic concert still hasn't been spent

The City of Penticton set aside hundreds of thousands of dollars last year for the end of the pandemic and it still hasn't been spent. In March 2021, council allocated $445,000 on initiatives to help kick start the local economy once the pandemic ends, and a large portion was earmarked...

Six-figure budget for a Penticton post-pandemic concert still hasn't been spent

The City of Penticton set aside hundreds of thousands of dollars last year for the end of the pandemic and it still hasn't been spent.

In March 2021, council allocated $445,000 on initiatives to help kick start the local economy once the pandemic ends, and a large portion was earmarked for a big event.

It was reported last March that the big event would be planned once COVID-19 protocols had been relaxed, and it was expected to take place later in 2021 or early in 2022.

Mayor John Vassilaki said a plan was underway to spend the money on a Bryan Adams concert at the South Okanagan Events Centre, although it never came to fruition because another wave of COVID-19 flared up.

In addition to Bryan Adams, Vassilaki said the city was looking at “other big names” for a full week of entertainment before plans were shelved.

“But we are planning to do a similar type of a startup event to get the community going again,” he said. “Our people at the SOEC are looking into it.”

General manager of community services Anthony Haddad said it’s still speculative what that money could be spent on.

“Maybe it makes sense to have three events for the same price” as one big one, he said.

Although the funds are to help draw larger acts to the SOEC that will have a big economic impact, they were not used to help book the Foo Fighters who are playing in October.

“The money hasn’t had to be used at this stage which has been great,” Haddad said.

The entire $445,000 budget is for the COVID-19 safe restart task force. In addition to possibly booking a big event, there are numerous other objectives of varying priorities to help the local economy bounce back from COVID.

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