DANKOCHIK’S DRAFTINGS: Southeast Event Centre right where it needs to be

Based on conversations I’ve had around the region, this may be my most controversial sporting opinion.

The Southeast Event Centre is nearly perfectly placed in Steinbach… But there is no “right,” opinion to have when it comes to this topic.

The main difference I have with the people who called for it to be built further afield of downtown Steinbach is our opinion of the purpose behind the building.

I see it as a premier event space, for banquets and major events. If that’s the main goal of the facility, Steinbach had an obligation to put it close to downtown, to help local businesses and have easy accessibility.

It’s been great to be able to walk to a game or two, and I anticipate doing a lot of that over the years. That couldn’t have happened if it were built further out of town.

The people on the other side of the argument would point to a lack of rink options around the region, and losing out on a sheet of ice was too big a loss, no matter the downtown upside. The facility could have more parking as well.

If the purpose of the SEC was to be a utilitarian winter sports facility, I would be 100 per cent on board. I think the region should be looking at coming together to build a “boring” facility somewhere closer to Winnipeg to potentially lure in city ice rentals as well as providing practice space for local teams.

While that kind of facility would be great for the region, it’s not a comprehensive event centre, which could bring in top events, and trying to build both would have lessened the potential of the event centre.

No building will please everyone, but I think the city and SEC group made the right choice in prioritizing the things they did when planning this project.