Nf_arena_09-23

Jeff Green | Jun 11, 2009

Jim Stinson does the 5 hole split at the Frontenac Community Arena fundraiser on Saturday

A number of local hockey fans sacrificed game 5 of the Stanley Cup finals on Saturday night, choosing instead to support local hockey and its newly expanded arena.

Folks from far and wide gathered for a dance at the Frontenac Community Arena in Godfrey, where they busted their moves to the rockin’ sounds of the local band Still Standin’.

Jim Stinson, chair of the arena renovation and expansion project, was thrilled with the turnout and given his five-year financial projection this will definitely not be the last soiree that will happen at the arena.

By the end of the evening 255 tickets had been sold and $4000 was raised. Congratulations to Cory Thompson of Godfrey, an ex-Frontenac Flyer who won $95 at the "5-hole split" shootout event, which attracted a large crowd of onlookers.

Stinson projects that the $640,000 project, which includes an addition to the building, four new dressing rooms, a referee’s room, and remodeled washroom facilities, will still be owing $200,000 at the end of Year 5, two years hence.

Anyone who missed the dance and would like to contribute to the cause can still buy a brick for $100. Similarly, platinum, gold, silver and bronze donations are still available and those donors' names will be added to the plaque that hangs in the arena’s main foyer.

Fundraising for the arena is entering high gear and Terry Gibson of Verona is in the final planning stages of the Mike Smith Charity Golf Tournament, which will take place at the Rivendell Golf Club in Verona on July 23.

Participants can rub shoulders with many hockey greats on the greens and rumour has it that an Ovechkin hockey sweater will be offered on the auction block.

For more information or to make a donation to the Arena Renovation and Expansion Project please call Jim Stinson at 613-374-2177.