Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers, left, and Cenovus Energy president and CEO Jon McKenzie, revealed the official name of the new event arena to be built in Lloydminster as Cenovus Energy Hub before a packed audience at the company’s head office in Lloydminster Tuesday morning. Geoff Lee Meridian Source
Cenovus Energy Hub. That will be the name of the newest arena event facility to be built in Lloydminster thanks to a $5 million contribution by Cenovus Energy for naming rights, construction and programming.
The City of Lloydminster and Cenovus made the joint announcement Tuesday morning at Cenovus Place by invitation only, with the public reveal held at Bud Miller All Seasons Park at 4 p.m.
“This is our largest community investment ever in Lloydminster and is one of the ways we can show how important this community is to us,” said Cenovus president and CEO Jon McKenzie.
“More than 2,000 of our staff and their families live and play in this region, and our contribution to the Cenovus Energy Hub is a great way to connect them and their neighbours through recreational activities, cultural programming and landmark events and celebrations.”
The estimated cost of the facility, which will be located south of the Gold Horse Casino, is $93.9 million.
The corporate donation shifts the city’s regional fundraising and sponsorship committee activities into overdrive.
“Now the challenge will be reaching out to the community and asking for individuals and businesses to come forward and make a pledge to help us move this project forward,” said Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers.
“It makes it a much better reality. We had set a goal of raising money in the community and this is great seed money to get things started.”
Aalbers reports architects are continuing to finish off the last of the drawings and interacting with project manager PCL Construction as well as with city staff.
“We are going to be able to move forward and start groundbreaking this year,” he said.
The highly anticipated event facility aims to be the cornerstone of the region’s cultural and sports activities.
The city’s landmark partnership and strategic collaboration with Cenovus as the named sponsor provide funding to support construction and ensure enhanced community programming over the next 15 years.
McKenzie told a packed audience at the Lloydminster head office when the opportunity came up for Cenovus to invest in the facility, they jumped at it.
“Our company has been part of this area for more than 80 years, and we plan to be an important part of the community for a long time to come,” he said.
“I’m looking forward to coming back and seeing the hub full of families and youth enjoying themselves.”
When it came time to pick a name for the facility, McKenzie explained they chose Hub because it’s not one thing.
“It’s many things that this community centre is going to be used for. Sports is just one. It’s a place for people to come together from all walks of life throughout Lloydminster and do any kind of a number of different things,” he said.
Aalbers says he also likes the hub part of the name.
“I really appreciate hub because it’s the centre of the region,” he said.
Aalbers said he knows people come to our community for education, for business, for health and they also come for entertainment and recreation.
“It doesn’t matter where you work in Cenovus, the chances are you are going to end up in Lloydminster at a meeting but you also might be bringing your children here to play hockey or be using the swimming pool,” he said.
