The Onanole And District Recreation Centre are working on a large capital campaign to cover the costs of a number of upgrades in their facility.

Committee Chairperson, Jennifer Workman, says the Rec Centre is the community’s central meeting spot for celebrations, sports, concerts and performances.

About 14 years ago the ceiling caved in on the original building and at that time they decided to upgrade the hall.  This building had been built in the mid-1950’s and no longer met the needs of the community.  The local committee approached Riding Mountain National Park about acquiring a building in the park that might be suitable for the town.

“The park had a great big hall that they were no longer using, and so a deal was struck that for $1 they would sell that building,” explains Workman.  “The Rec Centre committee worked really hard and had a previous capital campaign and moved that hall to its present location in Onanole.”

Workman says this was a game-changer for the community as it was now a venue that was attached to the skating rink with a full-sized fitness centre in the lower level.  The user-friendly facility included a spacious kitchen.  That building has been well-used over the past 12 years and now is in need of serious attention in many areas including upgrades to the air-conditioning, flooring, and downspouts.

“People have been very good about being onboard and volunteering and donating their time, materials and money,” she shares, “but it is hard to keep up with everything and so we thought we would start this capital campaign and see if we could knock a whole bunch of things off of our list.”

The committee has reached close to $700,000 towards their $1 million goal through community donors and support from their municipality as their ‘leadership sponsors’.  “We were starting off with $550,000 and it served as a funding model for matching grants,” explains Workman. “As the community donates, those dollars from the municipality and our leadership donors then get put into place. So, for every dollar that the community can raise then there is $2 that gets added onto it.”

“Having raised close to $700,000 it seems feasible that we can reach our $1 million goal,” she adds.

One of the items on the wish list is to add on a new vestibule at the entrance to the building.

Support has come in a variety of ways, such as Crane Steel donating all the material needed to re-side and re-roof the skating arena this past summer. 

The new flooring is almost complete in the hall

Most recently, the Brandon and Area Community Foundation donated $28,000 towards their capital project.  Workman says it will be used to help pay for the new flooring in the hall which comes in at a bill of approximately $54,000.

The Onanole and District Recreation Centre serves a large area, especially when the summer months bring more folks into their community.

“The hall with the stage will seat 300 people, and in our lower level underneath the hall is a fitness centre that people come to from all over, I mean the population just grows here massively in the summer time, and they can’t believe that a little town like Onanole would have a facility like that.”