The Red Deer Royals are going back to the drawing board for fundraising ideas after their latest request for $200,000 was rejected by Red Deer County.
Ray McBeth, fundraising chair for the Red Deer Royals Alumni Association, said he’s disappointed to receive a letter stating that county council regrets turning down the funding request for the new fieldhouse at St. Joseph’s High School, but there are many good causes to support within the county.
McBeth doesn’t understand this position, since the fieldhouse is the Red Deer Royals’ permanent home and 25 to 30 per cent of young musicians in the concert and marching band reside in Red Deer County.
The County also has a precedent for recognizing, through funding contributions, county residents’ use of other facilities within the City of Red Deer — including recreation centres and Red Deer College.
“They’re going to do what they’re going to do, but it doesn’t mean we have to agree with it,” added McBeth, who admitted it’s been a tough slog to raise the final $600,000 towards the Royals’ portion of fieldhouse costs in this rough economy.
The group came up with $2.1 million of its $2.7 million fieldhouse contribution through a decade of bottle drives, golf tournaments and other charity events. Fundraising for the project was expected to wrap up by Dec. 30, but the Royals had to request an extension from its partner in the project, the Red Deer Catholic School Division.
McBeth praised Red Deer North MLA Kim Schreiner for helping the group attain $125,000 in matching grants from the provincial Community Enhancement Fund, and Red Deer Mayor Tara Veer for assisting the group in receiving a $250,000 from the City of Red Deer.
He’s still hoping to get some funding help from Red Deer South MLA Barb Miller.
Meanwhile, Red Deer MP Blaine Calkins has hauled 1,100 letters from area residents who support the Red Deer Royals and its fieldhouse project back to Ottawa with him. There’s no word yet on when Calkins plans to present the letters to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Anyone interested in contributing to the project can contact McBeth at 403-350-9494.
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lmichelin@reddeeradvocate.com
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