Belleville’s mayor says council will be looking for more ideas on what to do with the Memorial Arena after no private investors stepped in to keep the historic building operating as an ice rink.
The city had put out a 60-day open call for investors to submit proposals to keep ice in the building but had no response.
Mayor Mitch Panciuk says council will likely decide on Monday to broaden the scope of those proposals.
Panciuk says that after a number of proposals were put forward near the end of the last council term, he’s expecting a fair amount of interest again.
He adds that regardless of what eventually happens with the building, it’s a cornerstone of the future development of that area of the downtown core.
The mayor also says he and council understand it’s a delicate issue for many in the community, based on the arena’s history, but private investment is really the only way forward.
Panciuk says it will be up to council to decide on Monday how long the timeline for proposals will be and if for some reason no quality proposals come forward, they’ll have to figure out the next steps for the building at that point, but maintaining the status quo is not an option.
Here is the full interview from CJBQ’s Lorne Brooker Show:
