By a close 6-5 vote North Bay City Council has decided not to spend money on a study on the two possible arena sites.

And instead is supporting the Omischl site.

An amendment to last week’s committee recommendation to call for a study on the costs of each proposed site was supported and this means Memorial Gardens is out as the arena or community centre location and the Omischl location is in.

Councillor Bill Vrebosch authored the amendment. He says it was time for council to make a decision.

“Every year thanks to the cost of living the cost of the facility is rising. It was a democratic decision. A vote was taken and as a result we can move ahead,” Vrebosch says.

Councillor Dave Mendicino was disappointed with council’s decision.

“I was hoping we’d get support so we could investigate both sites, I really believe we haven’t costed both sites and looked at the pros and cons. That really hasn’t been done,” he says.

City officials say they now have to hire a firm to do the architectural, engineering and design work and that’ll be added to the cost of the facility.

Filed under: arena, north-bay-memorial-gardens, omischl-sports-complex