From L-R: Lamont Sports Park fundraising committee co-chair, Mike Myatt, alongside Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau, Bruce Power President and CEO Mike Rencheck, and committee co-chair Rob Stanley. Bruce Power contributed $250,000 to the fundraising campaign for Lamont Sports Park Phase 2.
The Lamont Sports Park project in the south end of Port Elgin is currently collecting donations for its second phase.
Saugeen Shores Mayor Luke Charbonneau says the first phase of the project has been completed.
Phase one of the baseball park design includes four diamonds with irrigation and lighting, connecting paths to the Saugeen Rail Trail, temporary washrooms (to be enhanced later) and parking. Phase-one has a $5.3 million dollar price tag.
Charbonneau says after letting the grounds rest for a year following the construction, the area will be ready for use in 2023.
To assist with the project, Saugeen Shores council has put together a fundraising committee for the Lamont Sports Park.
“Now we are in the process of raising funds to move ahead with phase two, which will include a lot of amenities, including two baseball diamonds that are going to be targeted specifically at minor sports,” says Charbonneau.
It was announced on March 16, Bruce Power made a $250,000 donation towards the construction of the second phase of the Lamont Sports Park.
Charbonneau says this donation gets the committee well on its way to raise the needed $1 million for the next phase of the project.
Charbonneau says the hope is to raise the needed funds as quickly as possible.
“If we can get it done within the next few months, there will be every opportunity put it into the municipal budget in 2023 and advance the construction as part of the 2023 construction year. It is still up in the air obviously cause we still need to raise the money and some things have to get done in order to set that timeline in stone, but I feel pretty good that the committee is going to get the fundraising to where it needs to be pretty quickly and that we will be able to advance construction hopefully as early as next year,” says Charbonneau.
Charbonneau says this is the first donation to the second phase announced by the committee, but he has been told several more contributions are being firmed up. More announcements on further contributions will be made in the coming weeks.
“Right now the committee is in the what they call the quiet ask stage of the fundraising campaign, so they are reaching out directly to groups and organizations and businesses like Bruce Power, and then at some point, my understanding is there will be a public aspect to the campaign, but that isn’t set up yet,” says Charbonneau.
Bruce Power President and CEO Mike Rencheck says this donation is a homerun for both Saugeen Shores and baseball players and fans.
“Bruce Power is committed to helping our communities thrive through community-based projects like this, which will provide healthy recreational opportunities for all ages,” says Rencheck.
