Scheduled tours of the first off-site PNE Prize Home open for booking

Surrey, B.C. -

Touring the PNE Prize Home is typically one of the biggest draws of the fair. This year, the pandemic has changed that.

Instead of being moved to a location in the Okanagan, Pemberton or Sunshine Coast after the fair, this year's home is being built by a Langley developer in a new subdivision located in South Surrey.

“As we approached the 2021 season and it did not appear that we would be able to have an in person fair, it gave us the opportunity to do something a little bit different,” said PNE spokesperson Laura Ballance.

The home is just over 3,600 sq. ft. spanning three levels. It has four bedrooms, four and a half bathrooms, a home gym, media room, and private backyard with a barbecue and hot tub.

The total grand prize is worth $1.8 million, which Ballance said includes “the house, the lot, all the furniture – it’s a wonderful package.”

You can still make an appointment to tour the property, you just have to book online. The free tours begin on June 26.

It’s hoped the prize home program will go some way to help the PNE’s financial situation. At one point, it was forecast the company would lose $15 million this year.

With B.C.’s reopening schedule on track, fair organizers are in discussions about what an in-person fair may look like later in August.

“Right now we don’t have the answer to that,” Ballance said. “We’re hoping to have an announcement in the next week to two weeks as to what the programming will be.”

Tickets for the PNE prize home can be purchased online.