SSM arena project receives funding boost
A project to build a twin ice-pad area in Sault Ste. Marie received a huge boost on May 31.
Local MPP Ross Romano and infrastructure minister Laurie Scott announced that the province would commit $18 million toward construction of the $25-million facility. The funding announcement puts the project back on track.
For more than a year, the City of Sault Ste. Marie has been debating how to bring the W. J. McMeeken Centre replacement project within budget. It proposed the project to the province for consideration for funding by the federal government under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure Program last year. That application was rejected.
The announced funding from the province comes from the priority local infrastructure sub-stream of the new $200 million provincial Strategic Priorities Infrastructure Fund. The fund was created to provide infrastructure funding to larger, strategic projects and to sports facilities. The project was one of eight approved across the province.
“In the face of COVID-19, the Ontario government continues to move forward with infrastructure projects to strengthen communities and create jobs,” said Scott. “Supporting meaningful projects like this one in Sault Ste. Marie will make a positive difference to the families who live in the community, while also protecting their health and well-being today, and for many years to come.”
The new twin-pad arena will replace the existing single-pad arena at the McMeeken Arena, significantly increasing the square-footage and seating capacity inside the arena for the Sault Ste. Marie community.
“This is a significant investment into one of our community’s longest standing recreational facilities. I recall being a member of city council myself when a CO2 leak at the McMeeken Arena led to a health scare for many parents and families,” said Romano. “It is encouraging that we will have multiple major infrastructure projects being built in Sault Ste. Marie over the next year. With a new $25 million twin-pad arena in the west end of the city and a new $18 million Indigenous Cultural Centre in the east end of the city, and even more exciting news on the way with the construction of our community-based addictions services centre offering residential withdrawal management services.”