$45 Million That Probably Needs To Be Spent BUT....

Pan Am Games funds added to T.O. capital budget

The budge committee is formally recommending the city spend about $45 million on projects, including an international-standard swimming facility at the University of Toronto's Scarborough campus.

"This is infrastructure that the city needs well beyond the Pan Am Games so that by using partnership funding, we'll be able to produce a world-class facility in a part of town that badly needs it for the games and for the future," said Toronto Budget Chief Shelley Carroll.

.....how about a few bucks to maintain an existing facility that has and continues to serve the community?

How much longer can the Civitan arena last?

MIKE CONSTABLE/TOWN CRIER

OVERTIME: The average lifespan of an arena is 30 years, says David Croutch, president of the Civitan Don Mills Hockey League. The Civitan rink is pushing 50. The building is showing the ravages of time, both inside and out. At a hockey game last year, a mechanical problem turned the ice into slush, Croutch noted.

The future of the aging Civitan arena has been called into question again, after an offer to build a community centre for Don Mills was narrowly shot down at city council.

Officials have been trying for years to replace the Don Mills and Lawrence area arena, which draws hockey, ringette, curling, speed and figure skaters.

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