ACOA funding for Harry Ivany Stadium

Botwood Deputy Mayor Scott Sceviour noted that there was a rainbow and the end of it seemed to land on the Harry Ivany Stadium when the group travelling with the Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of State for the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency, were making their way to town.

There was not actually a pot of gold at the stadium, but there was to be an announcement made by Minister Ashfield that funding to the tune of $770,000 was being invested into the renovation of the facility.

The Second World War era building is set to receive a $2.3 million rejuvenation to the benefit of the town and the surrounding communities it serves.

"This facility is 80-years-old. We've done some mechanical upgrades for building what we are receiving today some major money to do some infrastructure work," said Deputy Mayor Sceviour. "We are in desperate need and we all know and users here with Botwood minor hockey and figure skating club as well as our community so we are truly regional arena."

Minister Ashfield was on his fourth trip to the province and wanted to personally see how the funding would benefit the community.

"I wanted to drop by and take a look at this facility and look at the type of investment that's going forward here," said Minister Ashfield. "The program was developed for this period of time all across the country and we thought it would be a good time for projects like this for a lot of rural communities that haven't had upgrades to their facilities and a number of years to upgrade the facility."

Exploits MHA Clayton Forsey, who was on hand for the announcement, highlighted the importance of the importance of the arena to the region.

"I played broomball in the stadium many years ago and there are no less than 12 communities that use this arena," he said. "What the minister has done today is put pressure on the province to come up with the other two thirds of the project, hopefully in the near future."