East End Community Centre gets a facelift

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This article was published 20/09/2019 (2604 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Renovations to the East End Community Centre are complete, just in time for cooler fall weather to come to Brandon.

The boards on the rink have been replaced and the grassy area outside the rink has been rehabilitated, with new benches and a fire pit installed. The building itself received new windows, a new floor and repairs to its leaking roof.

Ian Tait, president of the community centre’s board, said getting to this point was a long process, but he is excited to see it put to use this winter.

“I think it makes Brandon and definitely our area of Brandon that much better, people can see process and maybe think about doing some small stuff around their place or their businesses, so I think it’s a really positive thing for the area and definitely for the city,” he said.

The new look will hopefully draw more people to the community centre and Rideau Park by extension, Tait said, adding that outdoor hockey rinks are getting harder to find, so the renovations give people an added reason to use the one at the community centre.

“I remember back in the day that if I wasn’t actually playing organized hockey I was at that community centre playing hockey most days after school and into after supper. I’m excited to share that with my kids. I have two boys, and I’m excited to share the passion I had for that centre with them.”

Renovations to the community centre’s ice rink and building started in June after a total of $150,000 in donations.Both Co-op and the province’s Building Sustainable Communities Program contributed $75,000 toward the project.

The project is one of 24 recipients of funding under the provincial program. Brandon’s Riverbank Discovery Centre also received $75,000 for solar LED off-grid pathway lighting.

Coun. Glen Parker (Riverview) said he’s glad to see the project complete and for the centre’s board to have the refreshed space. It was a project they wanted to have done for some time but lacked the financial capability before this summer.

“I’m hoping that we’ll see some new families there who haven’t used the facility before. Each year, we see the regulars, and hopefully they’ll come back, but I think having a brand-new ice hockey area is going to be great,” Parker said.

Once the rink is covered with ice, there will be a cordoned off area for kids 10-and-under, making it safer for all ages to skate.

The ice rink will also extend outside the hockey rink into the area right in front of the community centre building. Benches are installed along the edges and in the middle, leaving places for people to congregate and chat while skating. There are also plans to decorate a Christmas tree in the middle of the skating area.

“Hopefully families will utilize it and we can do some winter marshmallow roasts or wiener roasts or something in the centre and just get back to some basics, keep some kids off their iPads,” Parker said.

Now that renovations to the community centre and ice rink are finished, Parker said the next infrastructure project will be the pool in Rideau Park.

This year’s renovations will ensure the community centre is well used for years into the future, Tait said.

“It’s got a lot of memories in the walls in that building … it’s nice to have a new face on it and to keep on with those memories and people can make new memories there. It’s an excellent opportunity for the area, definitely for the kids in the area to come out and play.”

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