The PMD Arena in Drayton is getting an upgrade.
Mapleton Township on Tuesday at the arena marked an investment of over $4.7 million from the federal government to expand and enhance the arena through the Direct Delivery stream of the Build Communities Strong Fund.
The upcoming work will expand and modernize the arena adding a new multi-sport and community space, improve accessibility and upgrade building systems for greater energy efficiency.
Mapleton Mayor Gregg Davidson says this will truly make an impact for the community and get everyone of all ages out and moving.
“We’re going to have a walking and jogging track. Think of the seniors in the winter, a safe place to enjoy exercise… now we can consider basketball, volleyball, pickleball any kind of sport in a multi court facility. I hope there will be people out there to think of those leagues. We’re hoping that comes here for the township.” said Davidson.
This is but the first step in the work for the arena as the township will also look to the province for support and also get local fundraising done to ease costs.
Patrick Kelly, Mapleton’s CFO and Treasury says while at AMO and they found out provincial funding which could apply to the arena was available he wasted no time getting to work.
“When Premier Ford made the announcement, I immediately got on my mobile device and sent an email to our staff team just saying we needed to set up a meeting following the announcement just to talk about who is going to play what role and what responsibility and putting together a high quality application for funding, it was within minutes that we jumped on it.” said Kelly.
Work is expected to start in mid-2027 with a completion date in mid-2028.
