Good night, sweet prince.

The University of Saskatchewan Students’ Union is one step closer to finding a new tenant for the empty bay in lower Place Riel that was formerly Campus Cove. The Cove’s doors shut permanently this past Spring.

Throughout July and August, the USSU ran advertisements in the weekend editions of the StarPhoenix requesting proposals from businesses to fill the vacant 3,000 square foot space.

“We’ve got some good proposals for services for students,” USSU Vice President of Operations and Finance Steven Heidel said.

The union has received a handful of proposals but the winning bid will not be released until the space arrangements and negotiations are complete.

“As soon as we know we’ll publicise it to the students and start advertising,” Heidel said.

The USSU would prefer one tenant, but the large space may have to be divided into two or three smaller lots.

In 2003, when the renovation and expansion of Place Riel was in its preliminary stages, students were surveyed on their vision for Place Riel. The USSU executive still uses this data to determine the services students are most interested in and need.

The services students wanted most included a hair salon, dental clinic, massage parlor, an SGI branch, a cell phone service provider, an optometrist and a chiropractor.

“We have people living here, we have people working here, we have people eating here, so we’d just like to keep students here as much as possible,” Heidel said.

Heidel said that there will not be another food vendor and that the USSU requires any medical service wishing to occupy the spot be part of the Student Care Network, which ensures students can use their health plans. Any proposals for tanning beds would have been turned down by the union because of the associated health problems.

The Campus Cove was the university’s arcade and games room for over 20 years. Prior to 2010 and its move to lower Place Riel, the Cove was located where the International Student and Study Abroad Centre is currently located.

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Photo: Raisa Pezderic/The Sheaf