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Winter activities sought for driving range

Tourism Whistler asks community to get imaginative

Ever thought about a family-friendly outdoor activity that guests and locals can enjoy in the winter months?

If you have, Tourism Whistler wants to hear about it.

Last week Tourism Whistler issued a Request For Proposals in an attempt to find creative and new ideas for the driving range, opposite the Westin Resort & Spa. The range lies empty throughout the winter and Tourism Whistler believes there are opportunities to maximize that spot from Nov. 15 until the end of March.

"We wanted to put it out there to the imagination because you never know (what ideas you’ll get)," said Diane Mombourquette, Tourism Whistler’s vice president of finance and operations. "Maybe (someone) can provide some kind of a family opportunity there for visitors. We just wanted to open it up and see if anybody had any ideas about that."

The driving range has long been considered a spot for alternate activities.

"We’d identified in last year’s business plan that potentially some of Tourism Whistler’s assets could be used to provide visitor amenities when they’re not used for their regular purpose," said Mombourquette. "The driving range is a good example because it’s closed for five months of the year."

At one time, Whistler-Blackcomb was looking at the area for a tubing/tobogganing park. They have since identified a spot on Blackcomb Mountain for tubing, which will be open this season.

Ideally Tourism Whistler would like to see an inexpensive activity geared towards families, which will add value to the overall resort experience.

"We would entertain whatever comes in but we’re thinking of the comments we hear from guests all the time that there’s not enough free or very low cost family activities in the resort for either after skiing or if they’re taking a day off from the mountains," explained Mombourquette. "So we’re hoping to fill that void with an activity on that land."

The land is owned by the Whistler Village Land Company, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the resort municipality.

Tourism Whistler has a 100-year lease on the land and the conditions of that lease state any activities on the land must be tourism related.

Last year Cougar Mountain was set to host free activities on the driving range, including dog sledding and hot chocolate, but the rains of last season prevented those activities from taking place.

Mombourquette said they would be looking for a two- to three-page proposal, outlining the details of a plan.

The deadline to submit proposals to Tourism Whistler is Sept. 30. For questions e-mail Diane Mombourquette at dianem@tourismwhistler.com.