The Smithers second arena fundraising drive is a success.
As of today, fundraising committee member Erin Rowsell said they had brought in the $400,000 needed to complete the project.
Last year, the Town of Smithers committed to building the second arena, at a total cost of about $4.7 million. Of that budget, $400,000 needed to be raised by the community.
The campaign kicked off with a bang, when Dan Hamhuis and his family made a $50,000 contribution to the project. Money slowly came in over the summer but by earlier this month, about $120,000 still needed to be raised.
Down but not out, the fundraising committee rallied and individuals and businesses from across the Bulkley Valley stepped up with donations, ranging from $25 to $10,000, to make the facility a reality.
One family who contributed to the arena, Luc and Renate Morneault, live in Switzerland.
The family heard about the campaign through an article in The Interior News.
Luc was born and raised in Smithers and was involved in both figure skating and minor hockey growing up.
He said he remembers having 5:30 a.m. practices at the Smithers Civic Centre twice a week.
“There were times in the middle of winter where we weren’t able to enter the arena [because the doors were frozen shut],” Morneault said. “The dedication and determination by parents, players and coaches under these freezing conditions in the early winter mornings shows how important hockey, as well as ice time, is to the community.”
Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach said he has witnessed the community come through time and again and said he wasn’t surprised the fundraising campaign was successful.
“I’ve always been pretty confident that people were going to step up and that the committee would be able to raise the full amount,” said Smithers Mayor Taylor Bachrach.
“It’s a really generous community and there are a lot of really amazing projects that have been built through community support. It’s wonderful that the whole budget has been raised and we’ll be able to build it as planned.”
With just two weeks left, Bachrach put a challenge out to the community to contribute financially to the project. For every $1,000 donated by a resident, Bachrach and his family pledged to make a $100 contribution, up to a total of $1,000.
That challenge brought in another $18,000.
What made the campaign even more special, Bachrach said, is that it became a true team effort.
“It’s an initiative a lot of people are going to have a hand in building,” he said. “It’s really a community project.”
The town had originally set a fundraising deadline of April 15, so councillors could go over the project at their regular council meeting tonight to determine what elements of the arena to cut to stay on budget if the goal was not met. Deputy mayor Frank Wray said that discussion is no longer necessary.
“We won’t be reporting anything back to council on Tuesday night,” he said. “We’re not going to consider changing anything at this point. We’re pretty confident that the money is there.”
Just because the $400,000 goal has been reached, doesn’t mean the project isn’t still looking for donors, Wray said. Additional seating, for example, could be added to the arena if funds continue to come in.
“If someone is thinking of donating, don’t stop because you still can and we will make sure it goes toward the second arena,” Wray said.