The sod is officially turned on the downtown Events Centre after a ceremony today.
Moncton Mayor George LeBlanc says it felt pretty great to dig the shovel in the ground.
He adds it has been a long time coming, and the culmination of a lot of effort from all levels of government.
“This is a project that we really worked on together,” says LeBlanc. “Really that was the secret to success because it would not be happening and we wouldn’t be here today if it weren’t for the great partnership that we had with our provincial government and federal government.”
LeBlanc says despite today’s ceremony, the exterior foundations are done, and 25% of the interior foundations are finished.
“To date 1,300 cubic metres of concrete has been poured, that’s a lotta concrete,” says LeBlanc. “The total person hours worked on this site to date is already over 10,000 hours and 90% of the contracts by value to date have been awarded to New Brunswick companies.”
LeBlanc was accompanied by several MLAs from the Greater Moncton area, as well as Premier Brian Gallant as they tossed the first shovels of dirt.
The Mayor says the $100 million centre is the largest construction project ever undertaken by Moncton.
“This project will revitalize a critical part of our city, will generate significant economic development for our region, and cement our position as the sport and entertainment cente of the Atlantic Provinces,” says LeBlanc.
He says the building will really start to take shape once the steel beams start going up on June 20th.
