Global Spectrum will do more to attract seniors to the South Okanagan Events Centre, says a top official with the company.

Assistant general manager Sally Pierce made that promise after meeting with the city’s senior advisory committee last month.

Topics raised included the affordability of hockey tickets, accessibility issues and the resurrection of the Ambassadors Program, a group of senior volunteers who greet and meet visitors.

While the “informal” meeting did not lead to any specific changes, Global Spectrum is “very, very receptive” to some of the proposed ideas, said Pierce, who predicts that the public can expect to see a “considerable amount” of senior-related marketing.

“They are a very, very important market of the community and we value their input and feedback,” said Pierce.

But she also noted that Global Spectrum can only do so much by itself, adding that council is ultimately in charge of factors like ticket prices.

“It (the meeting with the seniors committee) is the first step, if you will,” said Pierce. “We need to continue talking with them and we need to follow up with council,” she said.

One issue that has already proven difficult for council has been the issue of ticket prices, which were recently lowered. Committee chair Bill Slessor said ticket prices are “a big issue” for many seniors. “For most seniors, they are just too expensive,” said Slessor, who would like to see Global Spectrum offer discounts to seniors so that they could fill certain sections of the arena often left empty.

“There is a hole out there and seniors are prepared to fill it,” he said, adding that seniors make up a substantial portion of the local population.

Seniors aged 65 years and up, according to the 2006 Census, make up almost 26 per cent of Penticton’s population, eleven per cent higher than the provincial average.

But Slessor also struck a largely sympathetic tone, as he refused to criticize Global Spectrum, which has stood in the middle of some less than positive news in recent months. Figures recently released show that the company charged with the running the SOEC as part of a larger complex, which also includes the Penticton Trade and Convention Centre, has already used up $825,000 of its allocated $970,000 operational budget subsidy.

Company officials have blamed these figures on the poor state of the economy, which has depressed ticket sales and construction issues. They have also admitted that some of the events booked at the facility have drawn a mixed response, an implicit acknowledgement that they are still trying to understand the market.

The building’s poor performance so far has come after construction costs had escalated from $56 million to well over $80 million, prompting concerns from the general public (many of them seniors on fixed incomes) and elected officials, who despite everything so far, have not wavered from their position of support for the company.

Slessor echoed this general position, when he praised the company’s past efforts to get the facility up and running and current efforts to be more receptive towards the concerns of seniors.

“I think it is fair that they should be looking to their (population) base and seniors are there,” he said. “We are a big group here.”