Selling out Windsor cheap is offensive

Constable John Atkinson Memorial Community Centre is named after a man who lived in the neighbourhood, worked in the neighbourhood and was killed serving the neighbourhood, the first police officer in Windsor shot dead in the line of duty.

“This will be a constant reminder of someone who really played a strong role in the community,” former city councillor Fulvio Valentinis said at the ceremony to rename the centre in 2007, a year after Atkinson was gunned down while intervening in a suspected drug deal.

A rink at the WFCU Centre is named Corporal A. P. Grenon and Canadian Veterans Memorial Rink after Windsor’s first soldier killed in Afghanistan. Thousands of people lined the route of his hearse in 2008.

“My hope is that (people) will take a second to recognize the sacrifice that was made by Corporal Grenon,” former mayor Eddie Francis said at the ceremony to rename the rink in 2014.

Elizabeth Kishkon Park is named after the first and only female mayor of Windsor, who helped save Peche Island. “A tireless advocate,” Mayor Drew Dilkens called her at the ceremony to name the park two months ago.

What does Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex, South Windsor Arena’s new name, bought for $160,000, say? It says Windsor is for sale, cheap. Capri Pizza is part of the unheralded mainstay of the city’s economy: successful local and independent business. It makes delicious pizza. We’ve bought their salad dressing, too. We meet our neighbours there. Our kids’ friends work there. And Capri gives back to the community, sponsoring sports teams and local campaigns.

But South Windsor Arena is operated by the public for the public. Taxpayers pay $532,000 a year to operate the arena and community centre. Capri is paying $160,000 over 10 years. The first $20,000 is to pay for new signs — with Capri’s name. Another $25,000 is “inkind product allowance” — pizza. That leaves $115,000 over 10 years, or $11,500 a year. That won’t even pay for a Zamboni driver. Naming the complex after a business that contributes $11,500 a year makes us look desperate. And it’s offensive.

The owners of Capri learned to skate there, played hockey there, went on class trips there. So did our kids. So did many of the neighbourhood kids. Parents met up and caught up watching their kids. This facility is for everyone.

Naming public buildings after the highest bidder, the business that forks over the most dough, excuse the pun, is crass. These buildings shouldn’t be giant ads. Names should mean something, say something. They should honour a person, commemorate an event, reflect a spirit that shaped Windsor. They should teach and inspire. They should tell Windsor’s story. You can’t put a price on that.

The Paul Martin Building was named after our noted cabinet minister under four prime ministers.

Senator David A. Croll Park was named after the former mayor who ran a deficit to pay for relief for the unemployed and penniless during the Great Depression. He later became the first Jewish cabinet minister in Ontario and first Jewish senator.

Alton C. Parker Park was named after Windsor’s first black police officer. He spent 28 years protecting a city where he couldn’t rent an apartment or go to many bars, restaurants, beaches or golf courses because of the colour of his skin. He was so dedicated he once visited a man he’d arrested to make sure the suspect had a lawyer.

But Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex — it just sounds silly. What’s next? The new pool at the WFCU will be the Shawarma Swim Centre?

I know every city does this — Windsor’s WFCU Centre, LaSalle’s Vollmer Centre, Amherstburg’s Libro Credit Union Centre, Lakeshore’s Atlas Tube Centre. That doesn’t make it any better. And it seems especially offensive in a neighbourhood arena and community centre. Is everything for sale? Is nothing sacrosanct?

I don’t blame Capri. They want to do something, and they’re getting an unbeatable deal.

But I refuse to believe Windsor can’t forego $160,000 over 10 years. Take it out of the $3 million for Christmas lights. No one will notice.

And in a community with a long, rich history and a diverse population of hard-working, generous people, I refuse to believe we’ve run out of heroes to honour in our public spaces.