Heart of the community

Construction of the Tyne Valley Events Centre is progressing well: project manager

TYNE VALLEY — Walls are going up, framing is in place for the seating area, the ice surface floor is visible and the Tyne Valley Events Centre is beginning to take shape.

The complex, which will cost about $10 million, will replace the Tyne Valley and Area Community Sports Centre, which was destroyed by a fire on Dec. 29, 2019. The new building is located on the same site as the sports centre.

“(Premier Dennis King) was here (recently), and I told him we are going to make this the jewel of Prince Edward Island for all the community centres,” said project manager Cedric Gallant. “It’s a community building.”

Gallant said it’s important for people to understand this will be more than just a rink. The multi-purpose facility will be home to the Oyster Festival each summer and offer several services to area residents.

“Yes, it is a rink on Saturday morning for the kids, but there is a whole bunch of other stuff that is going to go on with the gym — the meeting room upstairs and when we take the ice out in the spring, we will be going to summer-time programs,” said Gallant. “This building will be going year-round; you can’t shut a building like this down at the end of April.

“The community has worked very hard for this, and they can be very proud because it’s going to be a nice building.”

Project chair and Tyne Valley Mayor Jeff Noye is thrilled with how things are proceeding.

“We are on schedule, we are on budget and we are going to be skating in the fall,” said Noye. “How can you ask for better than that?”

Kyle Maynard, president of the Tyne Valley and Area Community Sports Centre board of directors that oversees the facility’s operation, said the sports centre served the community well, but the new building will offer much more.

“There is going to be a fitness centre inside the facility, which our old one didn’t have,” said Maynard. “We are going to have the ability to most likely keep the ice in a little bit longer, if necessary. It’s not going to be yearround, but there may be an opportunity to get involved with more spring hockey.”

Officials have targeted early October as an opening date. Maynard added the intent is to have a complete 2021-22 season.

“We have no reason to believe it will not be possible, but that can change really quick,” said Maynard.

FUNDRAISING

Rachel Noye is chairing the fundraising committee, which has to raise over $1 million. She said she is pleased with how everything is going, and the committee is looking to raise another $500,000.

“There are still a fair amount of funds that need to be raised for the municipality portion of things,” she said. “We are picking away at it.

“We will get there; it just may take a longer period than we were anticipating. It’s a reflection of the COVID times. We can’t do much about that other than keep our chin up and keep pushing away.”

Finance committee chair Matt McGuire said expressions of interest for sponsoring key components such as the Zamboni, fitness centre and seating opportunities have been encouraging.

McGuire, who is also pleased with the progress, can’t wait for all the user groups to be back home in Tyne Valley. The events centre will serve people from 22 surrounding communities, including Lennox Island First Nation.

“Obviously, we have some great people building it, but with fundraising, finance and the build, there are a lot of volunteers who have stepped up along with some community members and companies who have gone above and beyond with donations,” said McGuire, adding there is no doubt that things would have been different had there not been COVID-19.

But, he stressed, one thing that has not changed is the support of community businesses.

“We haven’t had anybody hesitating because of the pandemic, and that is good news,” said McGuire.

FAMILIAR SITUATION

Gallant is no stranger to projects like this.

He was manager of the Evangeline Recreation Centre when it was destroyed by fire on April 11, 2010, and he was involved in the construction of the new Evangeline Recreation Centre.

Gallant came out of retirement two years ago to help out for what he expected to be a couple of months. Now two years later, he will assume the manager’s role for the 2021-22 season.

“With the fire and everything else, I felt I still had a bit of knowledge left from the rink in Evangeline,” said Gallant, who has 45 years of experience making ice, including several years at Halifax’s Scotiabank Centre (formerly known as the Metro Centre). “I love it, and I guess this is where I belong.”

Gallant added he senses excitement and interest building in the community.

“You can go to the store, go for a bite to eat and talk about the rink for half an hour,” said Gallant. “People are very proud of it, and they should be proud of it.”