Two groups give money to new recreation centre
By Chris Simon

They sure like their sports.

The Innisfil Recreation Centre's fundraising campaign is about $35,000 away from its $3.5 million goal, after two more donations made during a town council meeting last week. Kempenfelt Kelly Reality donated $15,000 to the complex, while the Stroud Mixed Slo Pitch League gave $3,410 for the installation of outdoor field lighting.

"It is a great contribution," said mayor Brian Jackson. "Every check that we get is very important. We are very close to hitting our target. We're $35,000 away from the overall target of $3.5 million. It gets more exciting each time we get one of these checks."

Over the last two years, the realtor has raised $35,000 for the recreation centre, during an golf tournament. This year, over 150 golfers participated in the event, which took place at Innisbrook Golf Course in June, said owner Lou Kelly.

"This is the second year in a row we teamed up," he said. "You can fill an 18 hole golf tournie with 144 golfers, and we had 150. We could have sold 200 tickets when you do a function in conjunction with the municipality. I'm proud to present a check to the rec centre."

The slo pitch league, and its 16 member teams, have been saving membership fees to pay for lighting behind the Stroud Arena for the last few years.

But with the recreation centre only months away from completion, the league switched its focus, choosing instead to donate money for outdoor lighting at the new facility.

"The membership of our league decided to offer this donation to the new rec centre," said league president Paul Mills. "With the new centre coming in, the likelihood of the lights going up behind the Stroud Arena is unlikely."

Once complete, the $29 million recreation centre will feature a twin-pad arena, aquatics facility, gymnasium, fitness room, and community space. It is located on Innisfil Beach Road, near the South Simcoe Police North Division Office and the new Town Hall administration building.

The first part of the first phase of the recreation centre, which includes the arena portion of the building, is scheduled to open in mid-November. The entire building is expected to open in the Spring.