Centennial Arena Capital Campaign
Canada Post:
PO Box 160
Tignish, PEI
C0B
2B0
Campaign Goal
Total to Date
$967,217
Case
For Support
For most people in
rural communities of PEI, it is hard to imagine a time without ice-related
activities playing a major role in community spirit. From its humble
beginnings as an outdoor rink, dating back to pre-World War II, the Arena
in Tignish has been a long-standing centre-piece in the lives of
residents, both young and old, in Tignish and surrounding areas.
Various groups of
dedicated and determined residents saw the advantages that these rinks
provided in the form of social and physical activities. In 1963, one group
of volunteers formed the Tignish Sports and Recreation Association. For
more than 40 years now, this organization has taken the lead in providing,
maintaining, and administering facilities for recreational and athletic
activities for Tignish and surrounding areas.
In 1967, a roof was
raised over the rink and a concrete ice pad was installed in the early
70's. Then in 1979, the Centennial Arena was rebuilt to include a new roof
and a clubroom in the upper level at the front. These renovations
certainly confirmed the determination of residents to provide the best
possible facilities where many young and old could just get some exercise
or hone their skills for organized sports.
The Arena has a long
and proud history of developing excellent hockey teams and a number of
players from these teams have gone on to play at University and even
higher levels. The entire community is extremely proud of this history and
is supportive of it's minor hockey program which develops many Island
Champs. In addition to these structured hockey programs, the Arena boasts
a strong recreational hockey league as well as an active figure skating
program. It is estimated that the Arena serves an area population of
approximately 5,000 residents.
Over the years, there
is no question that the Arena has earned its status in the community.
However, as is the case with most buildings, weather and age start to
present challenges to the physical structure. At the top of the list is
the Arena's roof, which is no longer adequate under present-day building
codes. Engineering studies have recommended that the total roof structure
would have to be replaced no later than 2007.
The concrete pad
continues to crack and heave, making it more challenging and
time-consuming to have a level sheet of ice. Replacement of the ice pad
would allow the Arena to go to an NHL size ice surface which is becoming
common in most rinks. The ice surface boards are too high and would also
have to be replaced. The minor hockey program has experienced a growth in
the number of female players that are moving on to higher and higher
levels of hockey. While this is certainly a positive experience, it does
create challenges in providing adequate changing facilities to accommodate
them. Also, the present five dressing rooms are often not enough to
accommodate the number of teams involved in a Tournament. Other problems
that should be addressed include safety issues such as not enough
emergency exits, not enough exit lights, low headroom in areas, and poor
air circulation; also there are not enough washrooms, no dehumidification
system, and parts of the ice refrigeration system will soon have to be
replaced.
The Sports Association
Board of Directors identified several priorities which had to be addressed
in the near future. The major ones were a roof replacement, a new NHL size
ice surface and boards, and an expansion in the number of dressing rooms
(possibly under new stands). There is also the situation with the present
dressing rooms not having nearby emergency exits to the outside. The front
part of the Arena sits partly on a concrete pad and partly on a wooden
floor above a crawl space.
The board appointed a
Building Committee, tasked with the responsibility of choosing the most
feasible and practical approach to deal with the above priorities. This
committee collected information on two scenarios; one which calls for the
replacement of roof, ice surface, ice boards, and lighting system over the
ice surface, and a second which calls for the construction of an entire
new arena. Cost estimates and preliminary sketches were obtained from
architectural and construction firms for both scenarios.
The Board realized that
this project could not become a reality without Government assistance
through the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund. Under this program the
project costs would be shared equally among the Federal, and Provincial
Governments, and the Sports Association. Our one third share would be
raised through a community driven fundraising campaign. But before the
Board went public with this campaign, it contracted with RBR Development
Associates Ltd. of Halifax to carry out a feasibility study. Through a
number of confidential interviews with residents in the area and the
Company's knowledge of emerging trends in the not-for-profit sector, RBR
made recommendations to the Board on the potential public support.
In January, 2005 the
Board presented the above information to an advertised public meeting of
about 100 enthusiastic individuals who expressed interest in the Arena
project. After much discussion, the meeting determined that the project
should involve the construction of a completely new arena. The Board
determined that such a venture would cost a minimum of $2,250,000 with 2/3
($1,500,000) coming from the Infrastructure Fund. The participants felt
that the remaining $750,000 would, with hard work, be an attainable goal.
In line with the optimism of the meeting, the Board is prepared to set
the campaign goal at $750,000.
However, in April and
June, 2006, the tenders for Phase I and II came in one half million
dollars higher than our maximum estimate of $2,700,000. Successful
application was made to the Municipal Rural Infrastructure Fund to
increase the total project cost to $3,200,000. Our one third share is
$1,066,666 which becomes our new campaign goal.
Through strong
financial management the Board now boasts an operational surplus each of
the last several years. This has allowed the Board to continuously meet
maintenance and upgrade demands. Because of less maintenance and upgrade
costs it is assumed that the new Arena can continue to operate on its own
without fundraising so that all of the funds raised from the capital
campaign will go towards construction.
This new facility will
address the shortcomings of the current Centennial Arena while increasing
recreational opportunities for families in Tignish and area. The success
of this project, however, will mostly come as a direct result of the
support of the residents who live in the area served by the Arena. The
financial commitment of individuals and businesses will be key in making
this project work.
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