If the NDP is re-elected to government, it will offer more money for community-based sports — and help build a new stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers, party leader Gary Doer said Tuesday.
Doer said he would double his government's previous commitment for recreation centres and community clubs to $60 million over four years. The funding would help create more soccer facilities and hockey rinks for children, he said.
"We believe that there's many, many kids that want to be more involved in sports," he said. "I got asked the question the other day, 'Are you going to support the inner-city soccer complex or the south-end complex?' I think we should support both.
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At the same time, Doer said, an NDP government would join private-sector efforts to build a new football stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers.
Doer cited the public-private funding agreements that built the MTS Centre, where the announcement was made, as a sign of what could lie in the future for a stadium. The province contributed $13 million to the construction of the downtown arena.
"I'm pledging today to use the same taxpayer due diligence, can-do model for the future of a Winnipeg football stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers," Doer said.
"We believe that the world-class facilities that are here today at the MTS Centre should be utilized as the model for how we go forward for a new stadium or a renovated stadium for the Winnipeg Blue Bombers."
Doer said he is keeping an open mind and is not putting one private-sector bid ahead of another.
Two proposals have already been made public, but the Blue Bombers have not made a decision about a stadium.
It's up to the team to approach the government with a proposal it believes will work, Doer said.
Doer would not say how much money his government would contribute.
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Keywords: Blue Bombers, Winnipeg Blue, Winnipeg Blue Bombers, Toronto Raptors, Mts Centre
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