BMO awarded naming rights for Four-Pad Arena

Ten-year naming rights for the new 4-Pad Arena were awarded to BMO Financial Group this afternoon by Halifax Regional Council.

Mayor Peter Kelly said this kind of grass-roots involvement by such a large national organization helps bring an important new recreational facility to residents.

“This is yet another great example of how the private and public sector can work together to the ultimate benefit of the community,” said the Mayor.

Steve Murphy, Senior Vice-President, Atlantic Provinces Division, BMO Bank of Montreal, expressed pleasure at his company’s participation.

“My colleagues and I in HRM are thrilled to be associated with this state-of-the-art sports and recreational facility that will enable young people and the community to enjoy their favourite sports, including ice hockey, figure skating, sledge hockey, ball hockey and volleyball,” said Mr. Murphy.

The $40-million, 160,000 sq. ft. facility – located on the Hammonds Plains Road – is scheduled to open in early November. It will include four NHL-sized rink surfaces – one of which will be fully accessible and able to accommodate sledge hockey; four competition beach volleyball courts, a sports retail store, and a food and beverage concession area.

In 2009, HRM partnered with Nustadia Recreation Inc. to design, build and operate new ice surfaces in response to prime-time capacity issues that needed to be resolved. Regional Council, in working to address the issue, looked at creating both short-term and long-term strategies. A long-term strategy – still under development – will look at replacing or reinvesting in existing aging arena facilities.