Editor's note: The following is an open letter to Sudbury municipal council and the citizens of Sudbury
Following our conversations with relevant city officers, engineers, architects and planners, we have not been given convincing reason(s) why the robustly built, functional Sudbury Community Arena cannot be renovated and refurbished at far less cost to the taxpayer than the figure ($50M) cited by the Caldwell Banker Real Estate management group.
We sincerely ask, on the part of concerned citizenry, for a considerate, unbiased reassessment and reappraisal of the functionality of the existing Sudbury Community Arena, minus numerous add-ons which we have reason to believe are unnecessary and extravagant to its essential operation.
In particular, we believe comparison arenas were "cherry picked" to the detriment of what may be effective and practical in a fair-minded assessment.
In particular, we need ask why the then-OHL community arenas at Plymouth and Saginaw, Michigan, both having done extensive renovations, were not included in their report? The Plymouth Arena was recently the site for the World International Women's Hockey Championship, and the Saginaw one, recently rebranded the "Dow Events Centre" with three venues, has served as a central driver for renewal in their downtown.
Quite frankly, we believe that more than the "baby is being thrown out with the bathwater," as so many vested interests, including our municipal council, are joining the headlong rush "to tear down and rebuild" at enormous cost to the taxpayer over the next three or more decades.
What is needed, we respectfully submit, is a rigorous effort by a contractor/development group dedicated and experienced in the business of renovation and refurbishment of existing arenas.
Our solid, robust arena was constructed by the highly regarded Hill Clarke Francis construction group based in Haileybury and Sudbury, under the supervision of J. B. Sutton, the father of former Sudbury councillor Bill Sutton.
Later, when chair of the Sudbury Board of Education, J.B. Sutton applied his engineering prowess in overseeing the construction of Lo-Ellen Park Secondary School.
Gord Slade
Sudbury
John Rutherford
Sudbury