The Victoria Curling Club could soon become the hottest spot in town, and not just for those who enjoy a good bonspiel.
Victoria City Council voted unanimously to approve a liquor primary licence for the club's lounge, meaning the club is now able to serve the wider public without the presence of club members, as is the provision under their current licence.
The club sees the new licence as an opportunity to become a hub for the North Park neighbourhood, offering a place for people to gather and a venue for local musicians and groups.
Victoria Curling Club General Manager Paul Dixon has been delighted with the support shown by Council and the local community in helping to support their vision:
“The level of support we got from council as well, with it passing unanimously, is terrific,” said Dixon. “We had a really fantastic letter of support that was written by the North Park Neighbourhood Association, which we really appreciate…There was, as I understand, literally zero negative feedback on the application, which is wonderful.”
While the licence change still has to complete the process of ratification from city council and further approval by the provincial Liquor and Cannabis Regulation Board, the club has already garnered interest from those looking to utilize the new space:
“I’ve had seven or eight local bands reach out and a couple of promoters and everyone’s pretty excited about it,” said Dixon. “The venue size up there is really great, in that 150 to 175 sort of range is something the city needs, to my understanding. We’re looking to capitalize on that and make it a cool cultural space as well.”
The Curling Club has served as a music venue at various times throughout its existence, most recently hosting a stage for the 2022 Victoria Ska & Reggae Festival this past summer.
In addition to their aspirations as a music venue, the club wants to provide a pre- and post-game hangout spot for those attending Victoria Royals or HarbourCats games, both whose stadiums are within walking distance of the club.
“In the wintertime it’s not going to change a whole lot, because we have people here all the time anyway,” said Dixon. “We’re open almost every night of the week with league play and our members…What it will really affect is postseason and summertime.”
“It’s all part of the need for us to diversify and create another revenue stream, because we have expenses that are coming up related to our curling operation that we need to pay for, and we’d rather not have it be paid solely on the back of our memberships,” added Dixon.
Dixon expects the process of ratification and approval to take a few more months as it passes through the hands of the LCRB. However, he remains excited to welcome the public in, once the process is complete:
“We’ve made that lounge space really quite attractive,” said Dixon. “We are excited to have it.”
