MARATHON – This town along Lake Superior has big plans for a multi-use complex that includes a hockey rink, pickleball courts, a playground, basketball courts and swimming pools.
Two nearby First Nations – Biigtigong (Pic River) and Netmizaaggamig (Pic Mobert) – have committed to providing a combined $1.5 million to help finance construction of the Marathon Active Living Centre, a news release from the Town of Marathon said.
“These projects have been on the books for Marathon for close to a decade,” Mayor Rick Dumas told Newswatch Tuesday.
The town talked with Biigtigong about a partnership to build a rink for both parties five years ago, he said.
“Now we’ve worked out a plan with Biigtigong and Netmizaaggamig with financial support recognizing their community use of our facilities,” he said.
The plan still needs provincial and federal funding. Dumas said applications to those levels of government will be sent this month.
“Our discussions with both levels of government have seemed very positive,” Dumas said, before adding as a cautionary note that getting infrastructure funding “is a very competitive process.”
The floor plans for the two-storey, 100,000-square-foot building, with construction budgeted at about $65 million, include a lap pool, a leisure pool, a hockey rink, changing rooms, a gym, a seniors room, bowling lanes and gallery exhibit space.
Space for pickleball, basketball and other activities is allocated for the grounds outside the building.
A former mill property on the shore of Lake Superior has been designated as the future Active Living Centre’s site.
The town hopes the project will be tendered in early 2025 for construction to begin the spring and the facility opening in 2028.
“Biigtigong Nishnaabeg are pleased to work collaboratively with Netmizaaggamig Nishnaabeg and the Town of Marathon to see the Active Living Centre become a reality so that the people in all three communities can enjoy the benefits of a healthy lifestyle,” Biigtigong Chief Duncan Michano said in Marathon’s news release.
“Our families and children look forward to the wellness and recreation programming that the Active Living Centre will provide to our communities in the region,” said Netmizaaggamig Chief Louis Kwissiwa.