Hockey may be catalyst for arena development.

• Author: Scarcello, Frank
• Position: Lakehead University to build hockey facility

The revitalization of university hockey in Thunder Bay may very well be the catalyst for future development of a new arena for the city, says the president of Lakehead University.

With the help of local investors it has only taken one year for the Lakehead University men's hockey program to become the envy of collegiate hockey in Canada.

A successful hockey program at the university will help in the goal of building a new multiplex arena facility in the city, says Fred Gilbert, Lakehead's president. And he thinks with the help of private investors it could be achieved within five years.

"Somewhere in the city, and ideally on university land, there will be a multiplex facility built. We think the city has a need for avenue, that will hold five to six thousand people, not just for sports event;, we think a fine location would be on university property," Gilbert says.

Prior to last year, university hockey was absent from the local sports scene for 18 years. In 1998 Gilbert arrived to fill the position of Lakehead University president, and one of his visions was to bring hockey back to the school.

"As a northern university in one of the best hockey cities in North America it didn't make sense that we didn't have hockey," says Gilbert, "Hockey is one of the key connectors with the community because it's something that brings people together from all walks of life. It's a real connecting point for an institution that can appear to be aloof from the community."

The next step in the revival of university hockey in Thunder Bay came in 1999 with the hiring of Tom Warden as athletic director. Warden played university hockey with the...