Okanagan College to build $14M rec centre, with community help

It’s hard to believe an educational institution with the stature of Okanagan College does not have a gym or recreational facility, but that’s finally set to end.

Okanagan College Foundation has launched its campaign, labelled ‘Thrive Here’, to secure the remaining $5 million required to build a long-awaited Recreation and Wellness centre at its Kelowna campus.

It’s expected shovels will be in the ground in the spring and the facility will be ready for use in 2026.

“Student well-being and academic success are intimately connected to what we’re trying to do,” college president Dr. Neil Fassina told an audience assembled in the Trades atrium Thursday. “We know to support physical, emotional and psychological well-being, we need a space for student recreation, intermural sports, health and wellness.”

Fassina said the new space will enhance the Team O.C. experience in the local community, with intermural sports, student fitness opportunities, training facility, and competition-sized gym with everything from volleyball to basketball to pickleball.

He added there would be seating for over 800 people in retractable stands, a running track, fitness suite, flexible programming space for meditation and yoga, and it will host student and community events.

“Finally, our convocation [ceremonies] will no longer be dependent on rain,” Fassina quipped.

Huge family gift

Already, $9 million has been raised towards the $14 million budget, thanks in part to an extraordinary gift of $5 million from Don Folk, a long-time philanthropist and former owner of the Chevrolet dealership in Kelowna.

It's the largest gift in the 60-year history of the college and one of the largest ever single donations to any college in B.C.

“Sport … builds confidence and resilience, and forges bonds that last a lifetime,” Folk said in a written statement.

Another major donation is coming from co-founder of Big White Ski Resort and former MLA Cliff Serwa and his wife Lois, who have given $500,000. They are to be honorary chairs for the Thrive Here campaign.

“Without basketball, I would’ve quit school early, driven a tractor and been quite happy,” Serwa, a Kelowna Secondary School and Okanagan College alumni said. “If I had done that, there may not have been a Big White and I certainly wouldn’t have been in politics.”

To learn more about donating to the new centre, click here.