The city's new multiplex sports centre could cost up to $1.1 million more to build than officials expected.

The four bids on the project, estimated to cost $28.8 million, were opened Thursday afternoon. They ranged from $29.9 million to $32.8 million.

Ketza Construction, the only local company to bid on the project in partnership with Monad Construction of B.C., had the lowest bid. Graham Construction, also from B.C., made the highest bid.

In between were Ledcor Construction Ltd. of Vancouver, with a bid of $31.7 million, and D.G.S. Construction Co. Ltd., also of Vancouver, with a bid of $30.8 million.

The sports facility is set to include an Olympic-size rink, an NHL-size rink and a small leisure ice area, along with two gymnasiums, multipurpose rooms, a running track and climbing wall. It's being constructed for the 2007 Canada Winter Games.

The first phase of the multiplex, the Whitehorse Lions Aquatic Centre, opened in 2002 at a cost of $12.3 million.

Councillors Mel Stehelin, Dave Austin and Dave Stockdale said in interviews this morning they weren't surprised the bids came in higher than anticipated.

As time moves on, costs rise, Stockdale had anticipated a higher cost for the city.

'I'm not disappointed,' he said.

City administration has to look closely at the bids before bringing the vote to council, he said. Austin noted city staff would likely be double-checking the numbers in each bid and looking at ways to save some money.

The lowest bidder is already starting to work on ways to lower the costs.

Ketza officials are planning to meet with the multiplex architects, Barr Ryder Architects and Planners of Edmonton, next week to look at ways money can be saved without having a major impact on the project, Ketza's general manager, Mike Johnson, said this morning.

The company already spent three weeks getting the price down to $29.9 million, he said.

Austin noted council may have to consider cutting out certain parts of the project or come up with more money if members want to keep everything planned for the building.

Under the $20-million funding agreement with the federal government to build the multiplex for the Canada Games, the building must include:

• one Olympic-size ice surface;

• one NHL-size ice surface;

• a gymnasium;

• an aquatic centre; and

• various spaces for administration, meeting rooms and site works.

Other building features are optional.

In addition to the $20 million from the federal government, the territorial government has agreed to put $8 million toward the project. The city is required to fund the remainder of the costs and is responsible for any overruns.

Austin would rather see the city come up with the extra money to fund all the plans for the facility.

As for whether that will mean cutting other city services, Austin said, 'I certainly hope not.'

The city has reserves available for emergencies, he said, but as for whether this could be classified as an emergency, Austin said he doesn't know.

'We cannot really go over-budget,' Coun. Yvonne Harris said.

She was planning to look over her notes to see what features of the building the city could exclude to keep the project on-budget.

If cost overruns came in only a small percentage over-budget, she might be willing to consider the city taking on the added cost.

'I think all council (members) intend to be frugal,' Harris said of the multiplex.

Stockdale also cited the city's need to be as fiscally responsible on the project as possible. However, the long-term benefits can sometimes outweigh more immediate cost overruns, he added.

'It's already had an impact on the budget,' he said.

Coun. Bev Buckway said she didn't want to comment on the bids until she had a chance see them herself.

While Stehelin wasn't surprised by the increased cost, he noted he also wanted to look over the details of the bids. He had been out of town for a couple of days.

There's a 30-day window for the bid to be awarded.

The building schedule for the multiplex, which was developed in June 2002, lists the construction contract award between March 15, 2004 and April 30, 2004.

Johnson said it is critical for the contract to be awarded within the 30 days from the bids being opened so construction could begin through the summer. The building would then be stable for the winter.

On Thursday, NDP and Liberal opposition criticized the Yukon Party territorial government for not including category D workers in the Fair Wage Schedule set out in the tender package. (See story, p. 9.)

The schedule establishes wages for various workers on projects where the government is offering rebates such as this. Through the Business Incentive Policy, the government reimburses companies which hire locally.

On the multiplex project, the territory included the Fair Wage Schedule for all categories of workers with the exception of category D, which consists of general labour positions.

Johnson said the exclusion of category D workers had no impact on Ketza's bid. The company isn't going to bounce a worker's wage around based on whether the schedule is in place, he said.

Coun. Doug Graham and Mayor Ernie Bourassa were unavailable for comment today because they're out of town.