Civic Centre ready to unveil state of the art seating, just in time for the ANBT

With tip off fast approaching for the 50th anniversary of the all Native Basketball Tournament, the City of Prince Rupert’s Civic Centre staff is feeling pretty proud of the progress in the refurbishment of the Russell Gamble Gymnasium, home for the majority of the tournament games.

The new seats now installed with only a bit of fine tuning and practice required to maneuver the new seating system. The seats feature a more comfortable product, placed on a motorized platform. With those new seats however, will come new stringent regulations as far as fans go, with an edict now in place that no food or beverages will be allowed in the Gymnasium.

Gone are the days of people sneaking in chips and gravy, pop or other substances to the old style bleachers, with the new cushioned seats relying on the motorized system, maintaining the environment in as pristine a condition as possible will be the rule, with no exceptions.

The Daily news provided details of the new seating system with a story in Tuesday’s paper.

Fans will be able to watch games in plush new stadium seating
BY GEORGE T. BAKER
The Daily News
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Pages one and two

Perhaps Santa was a tad late this year.

Because when Clarence Martin walked into the Russell Gamble gymnasium and set his eyes upon the cherry red seats and the black seats that strategically spelt 'ANBT' across the main bleachers, his face was that of a child's. It was Christmas in January.

The president of the All-Native Basketball Tournament (ANBT) had just received the gift he had hoped for.

The new foam seating was unveiled to both Martin and ANBT Vice President Peter Haugen Monday, and both were impressed by the quality that was laid out in front of them.

"The visual impact that it makes on me, I can imagine what it's going to make on the fans who've been sitting on hard benches for years. I can imagine when they come through that door there are going to be whispers and maybe shock and awe - if you can use those terms," said Martin.

Beginning on Feb. 6, sports fans will be able to place themselves in the comfy quarters when the Tsimshian Nation opens the tournament with a traditional welcoming.

Installed along with the new seats are high-powered motors that contract and retract the seats so they are not in the way of regular gym users outside of tournament games. It's those motors and the stunning looks of the seats that has the city's director of Community Services, Michael Curnes, desperate to get the word out that no food or beverage will be allowed in Russell Gamble gymnasium - ever.


"Here in Prince Rupert we have to make things last for 40 years. That's just a fact. With the motors there, you can't have food or pop spilling on to them," said Curnes.

With a price tag of $350,000 and despite the fact that the city is expecting to pick up a significant portion of that through grants, it's important for all involved that the 'no food' order is strictly adhered to. In case anyone gets any bright ideas, the ANBT's security team will be there to strongly remind attendees to keep food out.

The city is going to apply for the maximum 30,000 grant money that is available.

TaLedi Distribution installed the seats at a faster-than-expected rate, installing the seats in just under a month. That expedient gift, along with the new spark added to Russell Gamble gymnasium is expected to go a long way in making the tournament, known as the jewel of the north, a shining example of North Coast-competition.

"I don't think there is going to a bad seat in the house anymore.

"I am really happy about that," said Martin.

"I am proud of all the years I have been involved, but more so now."

The Best seats in the house are almost ready for you

Prince Rupert's makeover of the Russell Gamble Gymnasium is well on its way to completion, the Vancouver based work crew specially trained in seating installation has been working through the Christmas and New Year break, eager to make its deadline of late January for full installation of new seating for the Jim Ciccone Centre's basketball shrine.

The new look and expanded seating capacity will be ready just in time for the upcoming All-Native basketball tournament, a fitting celebration for the 50th anniversary of one of Prince Rupert's sporting and cultural traditions.

The update on progress was found in Tuesday's Daily news.

Bleachers replaced with soft seats at 'the Jim'
BY George T. Baker
The Daily News
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Pages one and two

The sound of nails pounding into wood and power drills curling holes in brick walls are sweet to the ears of Jim Ciccone Civic Centre staff.

Finally, the new bleachers began arriving and with funding now 68 per cent of the way there for the seats, things are looking pretty sharp in Russell Gamble Gymnasium.

TaLedi Distribution is the company that was installing the new mould seats and bleachers, worth $350,000, during the Christmas period.

While most of the nine men brought here from Vancouver were set to go home for the holidays, some stuck it out to push the project toward its finishing date in January.

“We bring up people that are trained already” said TaLeDi Director of Operations Luc Bedard.

Because two of the trained workers are certified installers, the company has offered the city a five-year factory warranty on the bleachers, which is good news for the city because replacing these expensive black and-red seats would be difficult.

Bedard said having a highly skilled team with him makes him hopeful that the project can be finished by the end of this month.

"Maybe, if things go really, really well (work will be finished early)," said the optimistic Bedard as work began last week.

He said the reason for the smooth and fast speed of the project was the way the city's department of recreation and community services stepped up to make things happen.

"The centre had everything cleaned up and had everything empty so we had total access, we didn't have to clean up after someone else - people playing basketball or people cleaning up at night, things like that, which happens on some jobs," said Bedard.

The seats are being installed for one of Prince Rupert's most important annual events, the All- Native Basketball Tournament that is heading in to its 50 anniversary, which begins Feb. 6.

The plush foam seats come with armrests, comfortable backing and they tuck conveniently under the bleacher steps when the gym needs to be opened.

He added that the gym floor was nice and level, which considering the age of the building was great news for the workers, leaving him full of praise for the way city staff had helped expedite the process.

 "All things considered, it's been an ideal thing to set up," said Bedard.

The city originally had hoped to have the funding for the work completely in place by Sept. 12, but the fund was only one-third of the way there by that time work began and the city was forced to take out a loan to get the rest of the way.

There is still hope that the final 32 per cent can be found before opening tip-off.