"The city hasn't built an arena in almost 40 years," says Allan Williams.
One result is a lot of old arenas. Another is a shortage of arenas. And a third is the door-to-door canvass on June 11 that raised about $10,000 towards the building of a new arena in Leaside.
"The primary purpose was awareness-raising," says Williams, who organized the event, as well as the mailing that preceded it, through his marketing company, Proximus Canada.
The proposal for the new arena, which will be added to the existing
Leaside arena (which will be renovated as part of the project), was approved by council in February. It's a $9.5-million project, of which $7 million is coming in the form of a city loan guaranteed against operating revenue. Of the remaining $2.5 million, about $1.9 million has already been raised, including an anonymous $1-million private donation.
Though there is no straight ahead official funding per se, representatives from all three levels of government � the offices of MP John Carmichael, MPP Kathleen Wynn and Councilor John Parker � helped out with the canvass.
Writer: Bert Archer
Source: Allan Williams
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