Lack of adequate changing rooms, especially for female hockey players and officials, has been a longstanding issue at the North Thompson Sportsplex.
Plans to fix the situation took a step forward last Tuesday when District of Clearwater council approved submitting a grant application for $400,000 to complete a dressing room expansion at the facility.
The money would come from the province's Community Recreation Program. If approved, the project would be completed by March 31, 2015.
Council also approved contributing $200,000 from the Sportsplex's annual capital plan towards the project plus another $100,000 from the Small Communities Investment Fund.
Other funds would be sought from third party grant distributors.
In 2005, before Clearwater incorporated as a municipality, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District looked at expanding the Sportsplex, said Clearwater's chief administrative officer Leslie Groulx.
The bids then came in at $1.2 million and the regional district said the project needed to be cut back.
The arena's lobby was expanded and renovated but the changing rooms remained more or less as before, with some minor alterations.
Clearwater lost an opportunity to host a foreign women's hockey team before the Whistler Olympics because the Sportsplex did not have adequate facilities, said Groulx.
The proposal to seek funding to add more changing rooms has already gone through the Wells Gray Country services committee as well as the joint services committee (which deals with matters shared by Wells Gray Country (Area A) and the District), she said.
A few weeks ago a delegation of female hockey players asked council to move ahead with new change rooms for women and girls. The present situation is not adequate, they said.
Premier Christy Clark announced the $30 million Community Recreation Program during last September's Union of B.C. Municipalities convention, said Mayor John Harwood.
The mayor said he has already spoken with School District 73 because the new changing rooms would require alterations to the road next to Clearwater Secondary School.
Preliminary plans from Westedge Engineering show five new changing room located along the north end of the Sportsplex. Three would be for men and two for women.
