Nanaimo’s Live Site screen, a remnant of the 2010 Winter Olympics, is set to be dismantled.
The City of Nanaimo announced Friday that it will remove the Olympic Live Site screen and sound system in Diana Krall Plaza.
It’s no longer viable for the city to invest in and maintain, with increasing maintenance costs and an inability to source parts for the equipment, according to a press release.
LED modules will be removed and sold, and the sound system could be converted into a mobile unit for special events.
Bill Carter, owner of Bastion Jewellers, said the removal is “too bad.” When there were big parties, especially at night, the screen added to the ambience, but he’s also not sad to see it go. It’s been on the fritz, he said, adding last year you’d see a message one day and half of it the next.
John Cooper, president of the Downtown Nanaimo Business Improvement Association, said the screen helped bring people into the plaza during the Olympics and was good while it was there. It's also at the end of its life.
“The removal of the screen brings the opportunity for discussion to come up with some other creative and cool ideas to keep that kind of a spoke type of meeting place for downtown Nanaimo,” he said.
A total $15,600 a year in operating costs is expected to be saved by the screen removal. It’s not known when it will be taken down.