The City of Sarnia will loan the Sarnia Sting about $1.6 million to build more dressing rooms at Sarnia’s flagship arena.
City council 7-2 backed the request from the OHL team, over and above $600,000 the city committed in 2019 for the Progressive Auto Sales Arena project, after Sting revenue was lower in 2020 and 2021 amid COVID-19 concerns and restrictions, a city report says.
Sting president Bill Abercrombie said Monday he was pleased with council’s decision.
“I think they did their homework really and looked long term and took into consideration what we’ve done there and what we’re planning on doing,” he said.
The project is moving the Sting from their current dressing room between the arena’s two ice pads to the arena’s southwest, near an existing team gym, Abercrombie said.
Former offices and a new addition will house the dressing room, a player’s lounge, a medical room and equipment room, he said.
“Currently we do a lot of traversing through the Zamboni area, which for obvious reasons isn’t really (safe),” he said, adding improving the dressing room complex will help the Sting with recruitment.
“Our facilities have been great for the last 25 years, but in order to keep up with others … it was really important,” he said about the improvements.
Completion is expected this fall, he said.
The team’s current dressing room will be subdivided into three, each new room with its own showers and washrooms, he said.
That will help solve the problem of shared washroom and shower facilities for other dressing rooms, when different ages or genders may be using the adjoining dressing rooms, he said.
“The bottom line I think too is it’s not just a Sting thing,” Abercrombie said.
Sometimes, with the arena’s currently eight dressing rooms, females on otherwise male teams have to change in a service area with no access to showers or bathrooms while their parents stand guard, he said.
“It’s not a good situation.”
The loan is to be repaid monthly over seven years with three per cent interest, the city report says.
About $910,000 of the $2.2-million total cost comes from ticket surcharges, increasing to $3 from $1.50 this fall.
“It really is the ultimate user pay,” Sarnia Mayor Mike Bradley said.
“The people getting the benefit of the facility will then be contributing to the upgrades.”
Fundraising is going well for the remaining $840,000 coming from the Sting, including $173,000 in interest, Abercrombie said, noting other arena users have made contributions.
“Everybody is on board with this,” he said.
The Sting organization is also hosting events at the arena, including a concert planned for May 28, he said, noting he couldn’t yet announce details about the headliner for the kickoff event for the Sting Assists Foundation, the entity raising money for the dressing room room project.
Revenue from the concert and other entertainment events at the arena would be split evenly between the Sting and the city, the city report says.
“I think we do need to support our local economies as much as we can and the Sting is certainly a part of that,” Coun. Terry Burrell said in support of the ask, noting the impact of COVID-19 over the last two years.
count. Mike Stark said he was against loaning the money, since the city had already contributed $600,000.
count. Margaret Bird voted with Stark in opposition.