By Logan Wells, News Director | Logan@kymnradio.net
On Thursday, August 14th, members of the community gathered to celebrate the next step in the new ice arena project: the groundbreaking of the arena. The event drew nearly 100 people to the site, which is set to be built on Honey Locust Drive and Cannon Road in southern Northfield. Among the several speakers is Ashlyn Paukert, who will be one of the captains of the Girls Raider Hockey Team this year:
“This will be more than just a building, this will be a place where athletes will grow, families will gather, in our community will come together.” – Ashyln Paukert of the Raider Girls Hockey Team
Representing her family, Laura Kay Gleason Allen spoke about her family, who donated the land for the project.
“Thank you for never giving up on this Arena. Our parents, Charles Read and Virginia Gleason, would be thrilled to know that the land they purchased decades ago is going to be used in this manner.”– Laura Kay Gleason Allen
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Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Among the many representatives at the project were government leaders from Northfield and Dundas, as well as the Hockey Association, who commented on the uniqueness of the project’s partnership. Here’s Northfield City Administrator, Ben Martig:
“But I say these projects get done by people compromising and coming together, and you’re going to have ice in this community into the future, and it’s going to really help the economy.” – Ben Martig, Northfield City Administrator
Martig noted from a tax perspective, Northfield and Dundas are equally sharing the load between the two cities, with the tax impacts being the same on a resident in either city. Dundas Mayor Glenn Switzer noted why they stepped up to support the project:
“It is a little bit crazy when you start looking at intergovernmental. The fact that Dundas is paying to be part of this, but we don’t necessarily have a stake in it, but we do this is a big community and that community keeps getting strengthened all the time as we work together.” – Glenn Switzer, Dundas Mayor
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture By Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Picture by Logan Wells/KYMN News
Beyond just the government collaboration between the two cities and the school district, there was a significant amount of fundraising by the Hockey Association, donating money both to lower the tax impact and to add additional features, including enough funds for a dryland training facility. Chris Kennelly is the leader of the fundraising efforts:
“So just to go through some numbers: those big five represent over $3.6 million in donations through either in-kind land or cash, which is staggering for a project this size. So thank you very much. In total, we raised about $4.8 million towards that project. We had gifts ranging from $10 to over $100,000, over 130 donors to the project.” – Chris Kennelly, Chair of the Arena Committee for the Hockey Association
Audio from the groundbreaking ceremony was provided by Northfield Public Broadcasting. And you can see the full video of the event on NPB’s YouTube page.
Picture By Logan Wells/KYMN News
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