The “Best Seat in the House” fundraising campaign for the 1,020-seat Muskoka Lumber Arena and the “Buy a Bay” campaign for the over 80 bays at the future Bracebridge Public Library are now underway.
It will cost $500 to buy a seat and $250 to buy a bay and a custom plaque will be installed on each. For the arena, the plaque will stay on the seat for 25 years.
Jerad Henderson, Manager of Recreation Programs and Services, said that 15-percent of what is raised will go to support the South Muskoka Hospital Foundation.
Leah Walker, Executive Director of the hospital foundation, explained that while the provincial government does provide funding for operational costs at the Bracebridge hospital, they don’t give them money for new equipment. “We’re only able to buy that from donations,” she added.
Every year, Walker estimated the laundry list of equipment needed at the hospital totals over $2 million.
“There is a keen interest in our community to be part of this project,” Deputy Mayor Rick Maloney, who is also the Chair of the Community Fundraising Committee, said. He noted that both fundraisers are open to everyone to contribute to, not just the business community.
Henderson said they have already sold a handful of seats.
The fundraising committee has a goal of $1.2 million. Henderson explains they will reach that goal through naming rights sponsorships and the arena seat and library bay fundraising campaigns.
You can purchase a seat or a bay on Eventbrite. Henderson says you can also call the town’s Recreation Department at 705-645-3037 for alternative ways to pay.
