A proposed recreation centre for the town of Riverview, in southeast New Brunswick, is getting almost $40 million in funding from all three levels of government.
The complex is set to include an eight-lane, 25-metre pool along with a leisure pool, a 200-metre walking track, a field house and other spaces for community activities.
Mayor Andrew LeBlanc said it’s fitting that the funding announcement comes during the town’s 50th anniversary.
“I think this project is really going to position us for the next 50 years,” he said during the announcement.
The town is contributing nearly $14 million to the project. The federal and provincial governments will be contributing around $20 million and $6 million, respectively.
LeBlanc said the town’s portion comes with support from the community through a fundraising campaign.
“It’s a testament to our community that we can come together and take this from an early vision right through to the fundraising phase,” he said.
Riverview has earmarked $4.8 million for 2023 to get work done on the project, said LeBlanc.
Federal Official Languages Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor, who is the MP for Moncton—Riverview—Dieppe, said the project has been a long time coming.
She said Riverview has seen “tremendous growth,” which has led to an increased demand for municipal services, specifically in the areas of recreation and leisure.
Petitpas Taylor said several other complexes, including the Byron Dobson arena, the Coverdale Centre and the Pat Crossman Memorial Aquatic Centre, are now decades old.
“In my discussions with mayors and council over the past, it has been made extremely clear to me that Riverview, if it is to take its next step to a growth plan, it must create new spaces where citizens can access modern facilities, which better respond to their needs,” she said at the announcement.
Construction on the building is expected to begin as early as October, according to a news release. A spokesperson for the Town of Riverview said the date for the recreation centre’s opening is a “moving target,” but the anticipated opening is early 2026.
This story was originally published in CBC News on April 17, 2023.
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