Salmon Arm's 67-year-old indoor arena is to be demolished. 

The city announced via social media Tuesday (Sept. 3) that a decision had been made to demolish the SASCU Indoor Memorial Sports Complex.

"There is wide consensus that the useful life of the building has passed and the cost required to bring the building back to a safe standard is prohibitive," said the city, noting no date has been set for the building's demolition, "but planning is underway to do so as soon as practicable."

The decision to demolish the structure, originally constructed by the Salmar Community Association in 1957 (with additions in 1961 and 1966), comes after the completion of a structural assessment by Bar Engineering, which concluded "permanent repairs to the building envelope and structure, with the intent of extending the useful service life of the facility, is not a viable solution and replacement should be considered.鈥�

In June, the city hosted an open house to get public input on the arena. 

The city said immediate replacement of the building is not feasible, "as the necessary funds required to undertake this project are not available."

"The city has many essential priorities that must be completed first, such as the expansion of the Water Pollution Control Centre," said the city. 

A discussion group is to be formed to look at "viable options for a future facility." 

"This group will use a collaborative approach with the goal of providing council with alternatives to consider," said the city. "More details will be provided this fall."