With the Collingwood Blues just recently signing a new 10-year contract with the town for the tenancy of the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena and multiple other user groups using the facility on a daily basis, one Collingwood councillor would like to see some upgrades.
During their regular council meeting on Oct. 7, Coun. Chris Potts put forward a motion, waiving notice, asking staff to report back in the 2025 budget on how much it would cost to add a new sound system and video steaming equipment to the Eddie Bush.
“The current sound system in the Eddie Bush Memorial Arena doesn’t serve the needs properly,” said Potts. “There are many things the Eddie Bush is used for, and there have been times when I’ve done presentations there, and people were happy to see me, but they didn’t know what I said.”
“I think it’s time we put in an investment,” he said.
As part of the motion read in, Potts said that as part of emergency procedures for the arena, it’s important that anything read over the loud speaker can be heard clearly by attendees, especially in the case of an emergency such as a fire.
Also as part of the motion, all groups that use the arena will be consulted to determine which equipment will best suit their needs, with a focus on being able to broadcast provincially, nationally and internationally if necessary.
Coun. Christopher Baines clarified that the project and costs would come back as part of the budget process, and a decision on whether it would proceed would come at that time.
“Otherwise, it could be a blank cheque,” he said, adding that as a member of the Collingwood Optimist Club, it can be difficult to announce the winners of the 50/50 draws that take place during Blues games.
“It would be a great pleasure for all the groups that use that building to have sound, I just worry about the cost,” said Baines.
Acting Chair and Coun. Kathy Jeffery said that now that the motion is approved, staff will work on the research necessary to get to a final cost number, which will be presented to council during budget talks.
At the end of discussion, council voted unanimously in favour of the motion. Mayor Yvonne Hamlin, Deputy Mayor Tim Fryer and Coun. Brandon Houston were absent.
