In six months the Ponoka Ag Event Centre will gain 562 retractable, permanent seats.
Ponoka County CAO Charlie Cutforth said the project will cost approximately $500 per seat, and is being paid for with funds raised by the Ponoka Ag Event Centre Society.
The seating units will fold up against the north wall of the building, on the cement pad. General manager Chas Lambert said 19 feet will be lost width-wise from the wall.
A 16-foot deck, which Lambert hopes will be wheelchair accessible, will sit above the seating. “We’re hoping both will be wheelchair accessible but the seats definitely will be.”
“I think the benefits are we’ll have better useable seats. It’s raised seating so the folks will be able to see above the boards we have there now,” Lambert said.
Even if the project takes longer than the estimated six months, Lambert says it won’t affect the events held at the centre. “They won’t have to be on the dirt part for installation.”