16 April 2010
Fredericton, New Brunswick
The Honourable Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue, Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency and Minister for the Atlantic Gateway and Deputy Mayor Bruce Grandy of the City of Fredericton announced today a significant investment in the construction of a modern turf field that will benefit sporting enthusiasts from Fredericton and the surrounding area for years to come.
"Our Government's Economic Action Plan is ensuring residents of communities like Fredericton benefit from federal stimulus funds through access to improved recreational and community facilities," said Minister Ashfield. "Our investment will support the construction of a modern turf field for city residents, help attract sporting events from around the region and generate new economic activity for the area."
Under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program (RInC), a key economic stimulus initiative under Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government is investing $502,000 towards the total project costs of over $1.8 million.
This project will allow the City of Fredericton to replace three older fields and construct a first-class turf field next to the future Grant Harvey Centre, a state-of-the-art sports and leisure centre in Fredericton. Work on the field is expected to begin within the next month and be completed by early fall.
"This is really exciting news for sport user groups in Fredericton," said Deputy Mayor Bruce Grandy. "The addition of an artificial turf field to the recreation mix at the Grant Harvey Centre is most welcome and in fact, helps to make this a recreation hub as recommended in our Recreation Master Plan." During the funding announcement, Mike Gagnon, president of the Fredericton District Soccer Association also announced that the new field would be used as part of the 2011 Under 18 National Club Soccer Championships to be held in Fredericton in October, 2011.
Canada's Economic Action Plan is providing $500 million over two years for the Recreational Infrastructure Canada program to support the upgrading and renewal of recreational facilities in communities across the country. RInC is delivered in Atlantic Canada by ACOA. Projects are selected on the basis of merit and construction readiness, and must be completed before March 31, 2011.
For information on Canada's Economic Action Plan, please visit www.actionplan.gc.ca.
FOR BROADCAST USE:
Sporting enthusiasts from the Fredericton and surrounding area received good news today as Keith Ashfield, Minister of National Revenue and Minister for ACOA and Fredericton Deputy Mayor Bruce Grandy announced today a significant investment in the construction of a modern turf field.
This project will allow the City of Fredericton to replace three older fields and construct a first-class turf field next to the future Grant Harvey Centre, a state-of-the-art sports and leisure centre in Fredericton. Under the Recreational Infrastructure Canada Program (RInC), a key economic stimulus initiative under Canada's Economic Action Plan, the federal government is investing $502,000 towards the total project costs of over $1.8 million.
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INFORMATION:
Ann Kenney
Senior Communications Officer
ACOA NB
506-452-3687
Wayne Knorr
Communications Manager
City of Fredericton
506-460-2181
