By Cecilia Nasmith/Today’s Northumberland
The West Northumberland Curling Club is hoping that the Town of Cobourg will offer substantial support in January, as they host the 2025 Ontario Curling Championships Jan. 19 to 26.
Club President Linda Laliberte shared the news at Cobourg council’s September Strategic Priorities and Policy Standing Committee meeting.
The provincial organization will send its technicians to supervise the transformation of the ice in the Cobourg Community Centre Bowl into four sheets to accommodate regulation curling, Laliberte said, and more than 10,000 people are expected. Events include hosting local public schools for one morning of the competitions, as well as a special paralympic curlers’ event and a young people’s event that includes junior members of the WNCC.
They expect more than 200 volunteers will be required to make it happen, and operational costs are estimated at $200,000.
“Our sponsorships team has been out and about,” Laliberte said, and they wanted to approach the town prior to its budget deliberations.
“Major events like this drive economic development,” she declared. They are curtailing food services at the CCC in order to encourage visitors to check out local establishments. And of course, many of them will have checked into local hotels and will be exploring local businesses. In some cases, it is hoped visitors may wish to return for another visit at a later date.
“The Town of Cobourg will be highlighted and promoted as a destination for all seasons,” Laliberte stated.
The request was for the town to join the ranks of the top level of sponsorship with a $30,000 donation.
This was debated and, once it was discovered that the tournament expenses include $48,000 to rent space at the CCC, there was also discussion of an in-kind donation that would cut this amount (or even a hybrid form of support that includes both a cash donation and a venue discount).
Council voted to refer the specifics to staff for a report. Chief Administrative Officer Tracey Vaughan expressed her intention to come up with a report that would lead to a decision at the Sept. 25 regular council meeting, because January will soon be here and organizers need to be sure of their finances.
