Tourism, Culture and Recreation April 20, 2007 The following is being distributed at the request of Sport Newfoundland and Labrador: Construction Begins on Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Centre The steering committee of the Newfoundland and Labrador Sports Centre is pleased to announce that construction has begun on the new provincial training facility. With an estimated construction cost of $7 million, the NL Sports Centre includes two separately tendered facilities centrally located at the Swilers Rugby Complex on Crosbie Road. Construction of the multi-purpose indoor training facility has been awarded to Marco Services. The high-performance centre construction contract has been awarded to Olympic Construction. "We are very pleased to be one step closer to seeing the NL Sports Centre become a reality. Sport organizations in the province are anxiously looking forward to having this first-class facility available for training and competition. I would like to thank our member sport governing bodies for their support and contribution to this process" said Tom Godden, president of Sport NL. "The construction of this facility will add to the value of the recreational and tourism infrastructure of the City of St. John's and play a vital role in the development of the province's athletes. The citizens of St. John's will benefit through the indirect economic spin-off from the operation of such a major piece of sport tourism infrastructure and benefit our athletes through personal use of the facility with it's professional staff and instructors" said City of St. John�s Mayor Andy Wells. "Athletes, coaches, sport organizations and volunteers will undoubtedly benefit from this facility, which will also serve to build on the successes of our athletes and will encourage our youth to become more active in organized sports," said the Honourable Tom Hedderson, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Recreation. "The Government of Newfoundland and Labrador is proud to support this project" "I�m delighted to see the construction getting started and I congratulate all those involved," said the Honourable Loyola Hearn, Minister of Fisheries and Oceans and Regional Minister for Newfoundland and Labrador, on behalf of the Honourable Peter MacKay, Minister of Foreign Affairs and Minister of the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency. "The steering committee, the city council and the Provincial Government, along with ourselves, have worked so hard to make this a reality, and it�s a great example of what can be done when we choose to work together." Naming rights to the NL Sports Centre have been agreed upon, though the purchaser wishes to remain anonymous to date. The new name will be unveiled in the near future. Naming rights to the High Performance Centre have been secured by Dr. Pat Parfrey, and will be called the Noel Browne High Performance Centre after the long-time friend and founder of rugby in Newfoundland and Labrador. The Crosbie Group has purchased rights to name the two gymnasia and will use the opportunity to remember past relations, Andrew C. Crosbie and Bernard D. Parsons. With construction already started for the NL Sports Centre, a completion date is tentatively set for November 7, 2007. - 30 - Media contacts:
BACKGROUNDER
Multi-purpose indoor training facility
High-performance centre
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