A Red Deer landmark that has been in operation for over 40 years has gone into receivership.

The Black Knight Inn on Gaetz Ave not only was a popular 98 room hotel, but also featured a restaurant and lounge, hosted numerous conferences and events, and was also the main place to purchase tickets for live events in the City.

The Inn is now under the control of insolvency trustee Meyers Norris Penny (MNP), according to a letter to its creditors marked August 7th.

One of those groups is the people at the Red Deer Memorial Centre (RMC), which put on shows and sold tickets through the Black Knight Inn’s Ticket Centre.

Photo from the Central Alberta Theater play of 'Whole In One', which took place inside the Black Knight Inn. Photo courtesy of Darrel Dixon.

Operations and Tech Manager for the RMC Darrel Dixon says, unfortunately, those who already purchased tickets for future events through the Inn's Ticket Centre might be out of luck.

“Meyers Norris Penny has said that they can try to get refunds through their credit card companies because the tickets are no longer valid. For people who bought them with debit or in cash in person, we don’t believe there’s anything that can be done.”

Dixon says they are looking at opening their own ticket website to try and win back the dwindling consumer confidence that currently exists in the live performance world due to COVID.

“The last thing the live event industry needs is this kind of thing. We’re trying to help with consumer confidence, and this doesn’t. So yea, we’re going to try to look into opening our own ticket office and then re-sell tickets for all the shows, which will probably be difficult during these times.”

The Central Alberta Theatre, which has made their home at the Black Knight Inn for most of their productions over the past 30 years, has made a deal with Festival hall to host their shows going forward.

They’ll still have to figure out a new way to sell those tickets, once live performance shows are allowed to be put on once again.

 

More information on the Central Alberta Theatre can be found by clicking here to go to their website.

More information on the Red Deer Memorial Centre can be found by clicking here to go to their website.