On Wednesday, May 7, the town of Brownsburg-Chatham announced the launch of the “Ma Ville, Mon Aréna!” fundraising campaign at the Gilles-Lupien Arena. The initiative is part of a larger project to modernize and renew the facility, with Brownsburg-Chatham being the first town in Québec to hold a fundraising campaign dedicated to a municipal building.
The population of Brownsburg-Chatham has increased ten per cent over the past five years. With more young families moving to the area, there is a growing need for diverse, high-quality recreational facilities and services, including modernizing equipment and programming to better serve as a community hub.
The Gilles-Lupien Arena modernization and revitalization project is expected to cost $3.5 million. Constructed in the 1950s, the arena was renamed in honour of the late Montréal Canadiens National Hockey League (NHL) player Gilles Lupien, who was from Brownsburg.
Funding of approximately $1.4 million from the Québec and federal governments was announced in March 2024.
The remaining $2.1 million will be raised by local businesses, sports organizations, and the community as part of the “Ma Ville, Mon Aréna!” campaign. Staff said that this initiative will bring together citizens, businesses, and other organizations to cooperatively build up the recreational offerings in the city.
Brownsburg-Chatham Mayor Kévin Maurice explained, “It’s been a long road; there was a silent campaign. We met with more than 30 companies in our region to present the project and show our vision.”
Planned work, set to begin this month, includes replacing the skating rink boards, modifying stands, reconfiguring the players’ and officials’ benches, upgrading the players’ change rooms, installing a sponsors’ display, and redeveloping the entrance hall. Additionally, funds will be used to add a multi-sport surface for basketball, dek hockey, futsal, and others.
“We concluded that nothing brings a Québec community together like hockey,” Maurice said.
The campaign is co-chaired by Steve O’Brien, founder of the Steve O’Brien Foundation, which promotes youth physical activity, and Robert Simard, professional historian and Director of the Musée régional d’Argenteuil Regional Museum.
O’Brien reminisced about his roots in Brownsburg-Chatham and the centrality of the arena throughout its history, while Simard recalled waking up at 6 a.m. to get on a bus to play hockey at the arena in his youth.
O’Brien was pleased to see the revitalization project taking place and commended Maurice on his work for the community, “I’m happy with the mayor’s leadership—young people are the future, and they often have visions and new ideas.”
Currently, the project has reached $507,500 in donations from K.L. Mainville, Groupe Investiir, Transport Larivière & Fils, Consortium développement résidentiel Argenteuil (CDRA), and Équipe Laurence.
Maurice concluded, “We focused on local businesses, but we hope to expand beyond the MRC d’Argenteuil and reach across Québec. I believe this project will shine on such a large scale.”
