[size=14pt]Centre gets a big name [/size]
Hockey facility planned for Cole Harbour will be named after Crosby
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Fri. Jan 9 - 7:08 AM
It could be the biggest assist of Sidney Crosby’s career.
The young hockey star is set to lend his famous name to a future Atlantic Canadian centre for hockey excellence.
The idea of having Cole Harbour Place enlarged and renamed for the hockey phenom has already been approved by the centre’s board of directors.
But now talk has turned to having a state-of-the-art centre for hockey enthusiasts — from beginner to elite — right in Cole Harbour.
The idea comes from Harry McInroy, the long-time councillor who sits on the centre’s board of directors.
And the parents of the Pittsburgh Penguins captain have endorsed it, he said.
"They like the idea of a comprehensive facility that would provide local athletes with opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have in Atlantic Canada," Mr. McInroy said in an interview.
"If you are going to go ahead and do something like that, they’d like to see it done right."
He compared the centre to the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, which will be built in the new Mainland Common Centre and used after the 2011 Canada Games.
"We would see this as providing that same kind of thing for hockey athletes," Mr. McInroy said.
There are a few other centres that incorporate similar specialized training in North America, he said, citing the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford, Ont., as an example.
Although funding for the Cole Harbour centre is still up in the air, partnerships with corporations and private individuals could play a part, Mr. McInroy said.
Even getting Reebok, with whom Crosby signed a five-year endorsement deal in 2005, involved "is not beyond the realm of possibility," Mr. McInroy said.
There are plans for the centre to have a synthetic small ice surface for a specialized "shooting gallery" as well as cutting-edge audiovisual digital technology.
"So you can film players and replay the tapes so coaches can analyze," he said.
Beyond that, Mr. McInroy said, there could be the involvement of restaurant services or retail outlets so that it becomes a fairly "substantial facility."
"If Cole Harbour is going to house the Sidney Crosby Centre, then the centre really should reflect the standard we’ve come to associate with Sidney Crosby. So I wouldn’t see it as simply an add-on ice rink at Cole Harbour Place. It needs to be more than that."
And while it would contain facilities for elite hockey athletes, it wouldn’t just be for their exclusive use, Mr. McInroy said.
"One thing the Crosbys have said is that they want the high schools and local hockey teams to be able to use it. They want to see it available to all hockey players that need it."
It all appeals to Hockey Nova Scotia, an organization that would be keen to relocate from their current office on Lady Hammond Road.
"What with Sidney Crosby and what he stands for and what he’s done for hockey, well that would be a great location for us," executive director Darren Cossar said Thursday.
He has had no concrete discussions with anyone about the centre and has thus far only heard rumours.
"But we think it would be a great idea and if we can do something to assist with it, we’d be willing."
Hockey Nova Scotia could lend a hand financially, Mr. Cossar said.
’If Cole Harbour is going to house the Sidney Crosby Centre, then the centre really should reflect the standard we’ve come to associate with Sidney Crosby.’
Hockey facility planned for Cole Harbour will be named after Crosby
By AMY PUGSLEY FRASER City Hall Reporter
Fri. Jan 9 - 7:08 AM
It could be the biggest assist of Sidney Crosby’s career.
The young hockey star is set to lend his famous name to a future Atlantic Canadian centre for hockey excellence.
The idea of having Cole Harbour Place enlarged and renamed for the hockey phenom has already been approved by the centre’s board of directors.
But now talk has turned to having a state-of-the-art centre for hockey enthusiasts — from beginner to elite — right in Cole Harbour.
The idea comes from Harry McInroy, the long-time councillor who sits on the centre’s board of directors.
And the parents of the Pittsburgh Penguins captain have endorsed it, he said.
"They like the idea of a comprehensive facility that would provide local athletes with opportunities that they wouldn’t otherwise have in Atlantic Canada," Mr. McInroy said in an interview.
"If you are going to go ahead and do something like that, they’d like to see it done right."
He compared the centre to the Canadian Sport Centre Atlantic, which will be built in the new Mainland Common Centre and used after the 2011 Canada Games.
"We would see this as providing that same kind of thing for hockey athletes," Mr. McInroy said.
There are a few other centres that incorporate similar specialized training in North America, he said, citing the Wayne Gretzky Sports Centre in Brantford, Ont., as an example.
Although funding for the Cole Harbour centre is still up in the air, partnerships with corporations and private individuals could play a part, Mr. McInroy said.
Even getting Reebok, with whom Crosby signed a five-year endorsement deal in 2005, involved "is not beyond the realm of possibility," Mr. McInroy said.
There are plans for the centre to have a synthetic small ice surface for a specialized "shooting gallery" as well as cutting-edge audiovisual digital technology.
"So you can film players and replay the tapes so coaches can analyze," he said.
Beyond that, Mr. McInroy said, there could be the involvement of restaurant services or retail outlets so that it becomes a fairly "substantial facility."
"If Cole Harbour is going to house the Sidney Crosby Centre, then the centre really should reflect the standard we’ve come to associate with Sidney Crosby. So I wouldn’t see it as simply an add-on ice rink at Cole Harbour Place. It needs to be more than that."
And while it would contain facilities for elite hockey athletes, it wouldn’t just be for their exclusive use, Mr. McInroy said.
"One thing the Crosbys have said is that they want the high schools and local hockey teams to be able to use it. They want to see it available to all hockey players that need it."
It all appeals to Hockey Nova Scotia, an organization that would be keen to relocate from their current office on Lady Hammond Road.
"What with Sidney Crosby and what he stands for and what he’s done for hockey, well that would be a great location for us," executive director Darren Cossar said Thursday.
He has had no concrete discussions with anyone about the centre and has thus far only heard rumours.
"But we think it would be a great idea and if we can do something to assist with it, we’d be willing."
Hockey Nova Scotia could lend a hand financially, Mr. Cossar said.
’If Cole Harbour is going to house the Sidney Crosby Centre, then the centre really should reflect the standard we’ve come to associate with Sidney Crosby.’
