Get Involved - Seat sale initiative for the Innisfil Recreational Complex
by Michelle Minnoch

For a donation of $300 to the rec centre campaign, you can have a seat tag mounted on the seat in the 1000 arena.

"This seat sponsoring program offers the community, groups or individuals, for $300, a name on a seat in the large arena," said Heather MacDonald of the rec centre fundraising committee.

MacDonald and Rod Boynton of the Innisfil Fundraising Committee appeared before council Wednesday with three recommendations for their initiatives.

She said the Town would approve the name and decide where in the arena the name would go, and the person does not own that particular seat.

The name tags on the seats are for a 10 year period. Seats can be named for the individual donor, a business, group, or in honour or in memory of someone special.

Donors who have already donated that amount and up will be contacted first for the opportunity to have a name tag placed on a seat. Four seats can be purchased for $1200, and the maximum number purchased can be 20 seats. Buying four seats or more would have the donors name on the recognition wall.

"Let's name all the seats," said MacDonald. "This is a great opportunity for the community to get involved."

Councillor Wauchope stated the price tag was reasonable, as some other town's had an asking price of up to $900 per seat.

"We are very confident we can sell 1000 seats at this level," MacDonald said. She added there are currently 110 seats which can be named after existing donors, and there are 890 available for naming.

Another recommendation involved the restructure of some of the naming opportunities for donor recognition on other amenities in the facility.

"The naming of the fitness centre was established at $50,000, and we feel that should stay," said MacDonald.

The following rooms/amenities not originally offered in the donor recognition plan are not being offered for donor recognition; the family change room is now offered at $50,000; the multi purpose room is available for $50,000; the child minding room, a smaller room, has a donor interest for naming at a donation of $15,000; the four pool change rooms are being offered at $10,000 each.

The 12 arena change rooms, originally offered at $50,000 each has been reduced to $10,000 each for donor recognition.

"It was felt by the committee to lower the price to $10,000," said MacDonald.

There are seven donors eligible for naming opportunities from their existing pledges, which would leave nine of the 16 rooms available for donor recognition.

The third recommendation by the committee was to increase the fundraising goal.

"We would like to increase that goal to $3.5 million," said MacDonald, who informed council that just over $3.25 million has been raised to date.