City of Toronto joins partners to celebrate opening of Regent Park Athletic Grounds ice rink

TORONTO, Jan. 3, 2015 /CNW/ - City Councillor Pam McConnell (Ward 28 Toronto Centre-Rosedale) joined project partners and community members today to officially open the revitalized Regent Park ice rink. Partners in attendance included Michael Bartlett, Executive Director, MLSE Foundation; Chris Bright, Executive Director, Hockey Canada Foundation; Remo Agostino, Vice President, Development, The Daniels Corporation; and Toronto Community Housing representatives. A Regent Park youth representative and other community members also participated.

The event included a Leafs Learn to Skate Clinic, a ceremonial puck drop, a community skate, and autograph signing with alumni of the Toronto Maple Leafs and Hockey Canada.

"Skating is one of Canada's great pastimes. This revitalized rink will provide the Regent Park community with an opportunity to gather and learn to skate or even improve their skating skills," said Mayor John Tory. "This is another great example of how we as a City can collaborate with outside partners to improve facilities and services for residents of Toronto. Thank you to the MLSE Foundation, Hockey Canada, Toronto Community Housing, and The Daniels Corporation for making this rink revitalization a reality."

Improvements to the rink include new lighting, dasherboards and fencing. The adjacent Fieldhouse also received a new roof, windows and doors, a renovated warming/change area, two accessible washrooms and a staff and storage area.

The rink is just one part of the Regent Park Athletic Grounds, a state-of-the-art sports facility currently being built and slated for completion in fall 2015. The 2.8-acre (1.1-hectare) athletic grounds will also feature a new basketball court, a soccer field/cricket pitch and a running track.

"It's exciting to see the first part of the Regent Park Athletic Grounds come to life," said Councillor McConnell. "Once the entire project is complete, it will open up many new opportunities for the neighbourhood. Not only will the athletic facilities be well-used and help keep the children, youth, and adults active and healthy, but the athletic grounds will add to the social fabric of the neighbourhood."

The Regent Park Athletic Grounds project is funded primarily by the MLSE Foundation and City of Toronto with support from Toronto Community Housing and The Daniels Corporation. The design of the facility was done by BBB Architects and landscape architects EDA Collaborative Inc.

The new ice rink is located at 480 Shuter St., north of Queen Street East.

Parks, Forestry and Recreation's vision is that every Torontonian has access to quality recreation programs and facilities in their community. The City's 52 outdoor skating rinks provide youth and adults across Toronto with opportunities to get outside and be active in the winter. More information about Toronto rinks is available at http://www.toronto.ca/skate.

About MLSE Foundation
The MLSE Foundation believes all kids should have access to sport and the opportunity to develop lasting dreams on the playing field. With the support of all four MLSE teams – the Toronto Maple Leafs, Toronto Raptors, Toronto FC and Toronto Marlies – the Foundation funds the refurbishment of local athletic facilities and programs that support kids through sport and recreation. Since launching in December 2009, the MLSE Foundation has invested more than $15 million into our community. For information, visit mlsefoundation.org or follow @MLSEFoundation.

About Hockey Canada Foundation
The Hockey Canada Foundation provides a new source of secure, sustainable, long term funding to support the future development and delivery of Hockey Canada programs, projects, and activities. Working with the Hockey Canada team, the Foundation puts gifts to work to help ensure Canada remains at the forefront in the development and promotion of amateur hockey. Mission – Promote and Foster Accessibility to the game of Hockey. For more information, visit www.hockeycanada.ca/foundation.

About Toronto Community Housing
Toronto Community Housing (www.torontohousing.ca) is Canada's largest social housing provider. We provide homes to 58,500 households with low and moderate incomes, in neighbourhoods across the city. Toronto Community Housing is working with its partners to transform some of our oldest public housing developments into vibrant, mixed-income, mixed use communities where people can thrive. Through Revitalization, Toronto Community Housing is going beyond bricks and mortar to build better homes, better neighbourhoods, and a better Toronto for all.

About The Daniels Corporation
The Daniels Corporation (www.danielshomes.ca) is one of Canada's preeminent builder/developers with a reputation for quality and integrity in all forms of residential construction. Named the Tarion Warranty Corporation's 2012 Ontario High Rise Builder of the Year and the recipient of the 2012 Toronto Arts and Business Award presented by the Toronto Arts Foundation, Daniels has built more than 25,000 homes throughout the GTA. Daniels was chosen to partner with Toronto Community Housing to revitalize Regent Park—69 acres in Toronto's Downtown East. Committed to community, Daniels champions neighbourhood initiatives that enhance residents' quality of life and supports numerous charities and non-profit organizations.

Toronto is Canada's largest city, the fourth largest in North America, and home to a diverse population of about 2.8 million people. It is a global centre for business, finance, arts and culture and is consistently ranked one of the world's most livable cities. Toronto is proud to be the Host City for the 2015 Pan American and Parapan American Games. For information on non-emergency City services and programs, Toronto residents, businesses and visitors can visit http://www.toronto.ca, call 311, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, or follow us @TorontoComms.

SOURCE City of Toronto

Media contacts: Mari Caravaggio, Parks, Forestry and Recreation, 647-333-4060, [email protected]; Akasha Di Tomasso, MLSE, 416-815-5924, [email protected]; Sara Goldvine, Toronto Community Housing, 416-981-4252, [email protected]; Megan Aird, The Daniels Corporation, 416-591-2918, [email protected]