A brand-new curling facility coming to Timberlea, is going to be terrific for those who enjoy the sport in not only Nova Scotia, but Atlantic Canada and beyond.
That’s according to the President of the historic Mayflower Curling Club, Mike Christie.
The province recently announced a grant of $3 million toward a $22 million project to build the Nova Scotia Centre for Curling Excellence Facility, which will be the new home of the Mayflower Curling Club.
The club has a historic significance in our city.
The original location on Agricola Street served as a temporary morgue for victims from the Titanic in 1912, before it was destroyed by the Halifax Explosion in 1917.
For the last several decades it has been on Monaghan Drive and remains one of the largest curling clubs east of Ontario and one of the most well-known in the country.
Christie tells our newsroom there have been a slew of clubs built in recent years, but they are getting ‘tired’, including the Mayflower, and that new clubs are needed to keep the sport going.
What is most important for Nova Scotia, he says, is a club with high quality of ice.
“What curlers need as they go from the junior level into their 20’s and 30’s, they need top quality ice to compete on and practice on in order to continue their success well after their junior years.”
He says ice time is also important and the facility moving from six sheets to eight, will help with that and should encourage even more people to come out.
Popular venue
The Mayflower is always busy with various leagues who play regularly every day with games nearly every night and members are excited for what is to come.
Christie says people travel from all over the province for competitions and with the new facility it will be that much more attractive.
“And then you layer on top of that high quality ice, good viewing, good lighting… if we have all of the top tier, top notch facilities…yeah we will have people travelling from all over Nova scotia and well beyond.”
Curling Canada has estimated that there are almost 400,000 people who curl ten times or more a year, all over the country.
Plans for the future
The new centre will primarily be a curling club, but in the future, will be more than that.
Christie says there will be room rentals for community gatherings with a kitchen, which they will be marketing for in 2025.
He adds, they appreciate the province’s support, and continue to fundraise for the total cost, but he says they are on their way.
The club is set to open in the fall of 2025.
