Pay to play and park at the SOEC
Has anyone noticed how full the parking lot at the South Okanagan Events Centre has been lately?
I have been watching this for months. Every time I go by there it is at least half full. I drove through the SOEC parking lot on Thursday at 12:15 p.m. and took particular notice that this parking lot was three-quarters full. Most of the spots that were available were near the information centre. I spoke to one of the attendants at the SOEC ticket booth and she told me that this is normal. It is full of cars from the hockey school attendees.
If this is true, why are the people of Penticton subsidizing the hockey school in this manner? This is, I expect, a very profitable business.
All this parking is free folks. Yet if you go buy tickets to a concert they ding you for $10 bucks.
Penticton council is constantly looking at ways to increase revenue and yet they are ignoring a constant large stream of revenue. Prospera Place in Kelowna charges for parking at any time on their lots. And they have full-time parking attendants aggressively monitoring the situation.
Who pays for all this wear and tear? Once again no one is protecting the bottom line of the Penticton taxpayers.
Elvena Slump
Penticton