NEW FOUR PAD ARENA
EXCAVATION UNDERWAYI noticed a sign up at the site yesterday not realizing that it had just been unveiled. On November 15th they will be holding an open house at the MacBain Centre, I will post pictures then.
GROUND BEING PREPARED
Nicholas Blanchfield started playing recreational minor hockey this year. The five-year-old loves the game, but finds it hard to play in the city's old arenas, which are filled with mould that makes it tough for him to breathe. All that will change come 2009, when the new four-pad on Fourth Avenue, near Stanley Avenue and Thorold Stone Road, opens its doors. Dressed in a Spider-Man costume, Blanchfield held up a sign proclaiming: "Spider-Man is flying high for the new arena." He and his mother, Johnna, were two of about 20 people on hand Wednesday as officials unveiled a sign at the site of the development, which will render Niagara Falls Memorial and Jack Bell arenas to the annals of the city's history. With excavators preparing the ground for an early 2008 sod turning and winds whipping the tarp covering the sign, Mayor Ted Salci declared the four-pad project officially underway. "This is certainly the beginning of what is certain to be an exciting construction project," Salci said. "This dream, many years in the making, is going to be a reality for the citizens of Niagara Falls." In May, council approved the 196,000-square-foot, $34.5-million arena that will include one 2,000-seat National Hockey League-sized rink and three 250-seat ice surfaces. Most of the money will be borrowed, said Denyse Morrissey, director of the city's department of parks, culture and recreation. The rest will come from the sale of Jack Bell and Memorial arenas, from cost savings for a more energy-efficient building and from a capital fundraising campaign. The capital campaign kicks off this month, but its main event - dubbed "The Great Seat Sale" - is already underway. People can buy a stadium seat for $200, VIP seats for $500 or "In the Pink" seats for $250. Donors' names will be etched on the back of each seat, and $50 from the sale of the 433 pink seats will be donated to Greater Niagara General Hospital for cancer-related care. "I'm getting a seat for my mom because she's a breast cancer survivor," said Johnna Blanchfield. Morrissey said once the arena opens, it will become an important part of the community, much the way the MacBain Community Centre has since it opened in 2005. Files from the Niagara Falls Review
4 comments:
Off topic, RioCan has the site plan for Niagara Square on their site now. Besides the Mandarin, Michaels and JYSK, there is one other (nameless) store of about the same size shown. All are around the size of Future Shop, and none have mall access. I wonder if the long term plan for the Square is to gradually eliminate the mall section and replace it with small big box stores. I don't think the new stores have helped the mall at all, it's still as deserted as ever. They also still show the new Canadian Tire which, I believe, was supposed to have been built by now.
The last I heard about the new Canadian Tire was that it was tied up in paperwork with the ministry of transportation, due to an expected increase in traffic to the area? Not sure how accurate this second-hand information is, but it's all I have heard. They need to at least attach the Mandarin to the interior of the Mall, that alone will bring people into the Mall. Another mistake made, was that the Cineplex theater when built should have been attached to the Mall, much like the Theater in the Devonshire Mall in Windsor is.
Hey Fallsview,
Do we have a year-end review coming? lol Hope to hear from you again.
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