George Carlson.
Ward 11 Councillor George Carlson talks during a fundraiser last night at Vic Johnston Community Centre. Carlson is lobbying City Hall for $7 million while the community needs to raise $1 million of their own to complete much needed renovations to the facility. The centre was officially opened in 1961 after the community rallied together to raise $179,500 needed to cover the building costs.
An ambitious project to raise $1 million from the public for the renovation of the venerable Vic Johnston Arena in Streetsville got off to a rousing start yesterday.
The 47-year-old rink is scheduled for a major makeover as part of an $8.6 million project. The Vic Johnston Community Centre board will chip in $1 million.
The arena is owned by the City of Mississauga and has been operated by a board of directors for the past 30 years, something of which Hazel McCallion, the former mayor of the little town of Streetsville (as it was fondly known), is very proud.
McCallion said yesterday that although it is old, the arena is still a "jewel" in the City's crown of local buildings.
Mississauga-Streetsville MPP Bob Delaney, the goalie on the Queen's Park Liberal hockey team, told the crowd that many hockey dreams were first kindled under the distinctive dome of the rink on the west side of the Credit River.
At the fundraising kickoff yesterday, there were a series of raffles for prizes including Toronto Maple Leaf jerseys and tickets and Toronto Raptors paraphernalia.
When completed, the building will boast a new lobby. There will be a reconfiguration of the banquet area to allow two functions to be held simultaneously, an expanded parking lot and upgrades to the building's exterior. The ice will also get a minor upgrade.
“The project will update the aging facility to today’s standards while keeping its historical appearance. The building will become more operationally functional, energy efficient and be designed to meet the needs of current and future users,” said Paul Mitcham, Mississauga’s commissioner of community services.
Construction is set to begin in mid-March with the facility re-opening in October.
jstewart@mississauga.net