Capital campaign launches
Hockeyville winnings will be part of $1.7 million renovation project for the O’Leary Community Sports Centre
O’LEARY – The president of the O’Leary Community Sports Centre’s board of directors says there has been no shortage of questions on what the rink is doing with its 2017 Kraft Hockeyville winnings.
Wade Sweet is now finally able to provide the answers.
“This rink is a big part of our community, and it is a point of pride. We really want to do things right, which is why we didn’t rush,” Sweet said recently as he and board members prepared to launch a $550,000 capital fund campaign during a Prince County Bantam AAA Warriors home game.
That cash prize will be applied towards a $1.7-million renovation project which they hope to have underway by April 1, 2020. The provincial and federal governments committed almost $1.2 million to the renovations in September.
There is already $150,000 in the capital fund account, made up of Hockeyville’s $100,000 in prize money, proceeds of Hockeyville merchandising and fundraising activities, along with some other revenue, leaving $400,000 still to raise.
“We could’ve spent $100,000 and paved the parking lot and been done right after Hockeyville, but we’ve been able to leverage the Hockeyille money to a much bigger project and something that people will see for years to come,” Sweet said, adding the pride factor that comes from being a national winner of Hockeyville has been huge.
Arena manager Jeff Ellsworth agreed, noting out-of-province teams attending the recent Mill River Minor Hockey Classic said playing in Hockeyville was part of the attraction.
“To play in a building that actually won a national title, it’s pretty special,” Ellsworth said.
So now the rink’s board and renovation committee are set to make the facility look the part.
Getting to this point in the process has been exhilarating, Sweet said, adding they hope to build from the Hockeyville fever.
“We’re hoping to be able to ignite people’s passions again and hopefully get their names on the wall in here somewhere,” he said, referring to a donor board that will be displayed in the new front lobby.
The capital campaign will involve contacting individual and corporate donors. There will be several sponsorship categories, including sponsorships of dressing rooms and heated seats and even an opportunity for a corporate sponsor to be identified in the arena’s name.
“The final project here is going to be phenomenal,” said O’Leary recreation director, Andrew Avery. “People will understand why it took three years. The plans we’ve been doing, what we’ve been working on – this is going to be an unbelievable project.”
Sweet said while there was a push on to get the campaign underway before the end of the calendar year in case donors wanted a 2019 tax receipt, the timing is necessary to get the renovations underway on schedule.
“We’ve got everything lined up with our engineers. Our tender packages will be going out in early January for both the ice plant and for the front of the building renovations and dressing rooms,” he said.
Re-paving the parking lot is part of the overall plan.
The ice plant work, which will include converting the facility from ammonia to a synthetic coolant, is set to get underway next spring. The arena will gain a refrigeration system that is safer, more efficient and easier to run while taking up a smaller footprint.
Sweet says they may not know if the work on other renovations can be carried out between hockey seasons until a contractor is chosen.
That work will include knocking out the walls between the current lobby and Zamboni room, rearranging the canteen and putting up a glass wall between the ice surface and the canteen, providing retail space in the area and enlarging the washroom facilities. The interior stairway beside the canteen will be removed, and the stairway inside the front entrance will be enlarged. Sweet said concerted effort will be made to increase the functionality of the second level. As well, there will be an upper-level entrance to the stands, especially beneficial for patrons with mobility issues.
“The biggest part of this is, we’ve got a 30-year-old facility. We want to leave something for the next generation,” said the board president.
“We’ve got the opportunity, because of Hockeyville, that we can set this rink up for another 30 years, potentially, and we really want to make sure the facility is established and efficient going forward.”
This rink is a big part of our community, and it is a point of pride. We really want to do things right, which is why we didn’t rush.” Wade Sweet