It was recently revealed that the municipality of Shawville has formed a committee tasked with bringing a new arena to town.
The arena would be named after local hockey legend Bryan Murray.
THE EQUITY published an editorial in the wake of Murray’s passing that the Shawville Arena should be renamed after him.
However, the arena is already dedicated to former Pontiac Agricultural Society (PAS) president J. Arthur Kilgour.
Since the arena had already been dedicated to Kilgore, the PAS decided that it didn’t want to go against the wishes of previous generations of PAS members.
But this appears to give the town a chance to have an arena named after Murray.
The current arena is in urgent need of upgrades. The refrigeration system’s chiller just went down and it will cost at least $100,000 to fix it.
In the grand scheme of things, the $100,000 needed to fix the chiller pales in comparison to the millions it will take to build a new arena.
But Shawville deserves it.
This town has a long and proud hockey history. The rink that was built here in 1912 was one of the first in the entire upper Ottawa Valley and contributed to the town’s aforementioned history.
Although it’s still in its early stages, there is plenty that people can do to get involved.
Get in touch with your local representative to see what you can do. If you have some money to donate to the cause, that would be more than welcome.
Kudos to Shawville Mayor Sandra Murray and her fellow councillors and volunteers for getting the ball rolling on such an important project.
Pontiac MP Will Amos also deserves credit for being a part of this from the get-go. Murray said that Amos brings plenty of experience after helping to get a new arena in Chelsea a few years ago.
The timing of this news couldn’t be better. It was only recently revealed that a movement was afoot to bring senior hockey back to the Pontiac.
Imagine, after a few short years, the team – and the town – could have a brand new arena to call home. Now that’s something to get excited about.
Chris Lowrey
