The next big event for the territory’s largest sports organization could well be a “mortgage-burning party,” as Mayor Dan Curtis has suggested.

It would take place along with a celebration to officially become the owner of the place it has called home for just about a quarter of a century.

“It’s been a long road,” a pleased Tracey Bilsky, Sport Yukon’s executive director, said in an interview this morning.

The city holds title to Sport Yukon’s portion of the Fourth Avenue building.

Sport Yukon has been paying the mortgage, taxes and other bills as well as overseeing any maintenance required, such as work to the roof that was done recently.

As city planning manager Pat Ross explained at Monday’s council meeting, the city is the building’s owner on paper only, with Sport Yukon acting as the owner.

With the mortgage paid off as of last July, city staff are proposing that section of the building be sold to Sport Yukon for just $1.

Before putting forward the recommendation for the sale, Ross looked back on the history of the entire building. It was constructed in 1991, when the city provided a loan of more than $1 million for the construction.

Originally, Sport Yukon signed a 50-year lease with the city which would have seen it repay the loan over a 25-year period, followed by another 25 years where it would pay a nominal rental rate.

As Sport Yukon president George Arcand recalled this morning, the vision for the building when it was proposed had been a “one-stop” sport and recreation shop.

Everything was fine, Arcand said, until a tenant in the building moved out.

With Sport Yukon having trouble meeting the original agreement, a new arrangement on the building was made in 1995.

It saw a 20 per cent portion of the structure and its footprint sold to the Golden Age Society after the building was registered as a condo corporation, allowing part of the loan to be paid off.

A new 21-year lease with a revised payment schedule was also put in place. The city’s parks and recreation department moved in as a subtenant in the building.

“We did everything as an owner,” Arcand said of the arrangement.

It’s probably been close to 30 years since the organization went to the city, including then-mayor Don Branigan, with its original request for the one-stop shop.

“It’s kind of surreal,” Arcand said.

While there were some early difficulties, he said, overall, the vision he and others with the group had for the building has been achieved, especially with both Yukon government and city recreation officials in the building.

The structure also features the Yukon Sport Hall of Fame, recognizing the efforts of those who have made significant contributions to sports in the territory.

The boardrooms and foyer have served a number of sports organizations in holding meetings or making announcements.

“It’s everything we hoped it to be,” Arcand said.

Council will vote next week on whether to move forward with a bylaw that would see the city sell to Sport Yukon.

“In a lot of ways, this is a good news story,” Coun. Dan Boyd said during Monday night’s discussions.

He also wondered, though, if the sale should be brought forward at this point, with many “unknowns” outlined in the plans for the property.

As it was noted in Ross’ report, the driveway and parking area at the back of the building are not zoned properly and are not included within the condo corporation property.

To deal with that if the sale to Sport Yukon goes ahead, a zoning change would come forward to legitimize the area that’s been used for parking since the building was constructed.

That would be followed by a bylaw to sell the rezoned area to the condo corporation (made up of the Golden Age Society and Sport Yukon) at a nominal fee.

If the zoning change and bylaw do not go ahead, the city would work to negotiate an easement agreement for the driveway and parking space.

A new lease arrangement would also be finalized between Sport Yukon and the city for the space the city already rents in the building. The current rent costs the city $52,500 each year for the 2,500-square-foot space.

While Ross acknowledged Boyd’s point that there are a number of steps still to come, he noted that in order for the driveway and parking area issues to be dealt with, the bylaw governing the sale of the Sport Yukon portion of the building must first be approved.

Council members were quick to note the work Sport Yukon has undertaken over the years in the community.

“That’s quite the legacy,” Curtis said, with Coun. Rob Fendrick also thanking the group for its efforts.

“It has been a long road for them,” the councillor said.

While council considers the sale, Sport Yukon officials say the money that had been going to pay off the city loan will give the organization some flexibility when it comes to maintenance on the building.

As Bilsky pointed out, the structure is showing its age. It could use some new paint and flooring among other work to spruce things up.

Coun. Jocelyn Curteanu attended Monday night’s council meeting by conference call.