Stampede campground being upgraded
Williams Lake Stampede Association director Joe Pushak stands at the Stampede Campground where upgrades have begun due to a $750,000 cheque from the federal government that the association received at the Stampede this year.
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Upgrades to the campground at the Stampede grounds are underway.
The Williams Lake Stampede Association is utilizing the $750,000 federal government grant it received earlier this year.
Upgrades will include an addition to the washhouse, which will have laundry, a handicap washroom, and a mechanical room. The campground will also be extended in order for there to be 58 full service sites — nine of them will have 50-amp service.
Natural gas may also be added to the campground.
According to report prepared by Stampede Association director Joe Pushak, in spring 2007, the association asked the federal government, through the City of Williams Lake, for a grant to upgrade the campground.
As part of the process, the association asked the travelling public what they would like to see. Its survey found that laundry facilities, wireless Internet services, 50- amp service (more electricity), and better pull-through sites were the main improvements travellers would like to see.
The association also kept track of where customers were from and the size and type of units.
TRUE Consulting Group developed a conceptual drawing and projected costs to upgrade the campground.
Then, at the 2009 Williams Lake Stampede, Cariboo-Prince George MP Dick Harris presented the association with a $750,000 cheque.
Work to the campground began Oct. 21.
“We really needed to upgrade our electrical,” Pushak says. “Our electrical is in dire need of upgrade.”
Pushak says that today’s campers are equipped with TVs, washers, and dryers, and some even have two air conditioners. As a result, many now require at least 50-amp service.
“The 30-amp service won’t do that,” he says. “It’s not enough for today’s camper.”
The improvements, combined with other campsites near Williams Lake recently closing, may keep campers in the city for longer, he says.
“This is going to bring the travelling customer right into downtown Williams Lake, and I think that’s terrific,” he says.
“I think it’s going to be good for the merchants of Williams Lake.”
He says the association hopes to see its revenue increase by 30 per cent, but he notes it’s too hard to say at this point whether that will happen.
Pushak adds that several sites will be open this winter at the campground as well.
The improvements are expected to be complete by the end of April.
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