Rotary Park Revitalization Committee & Brockville Winter Classic Has Raised Over $4,000,000 in Upgrades to Rotary Park Over the Years

Brockville – It is Brockville Winter Classic (BWC) Weekend in Brockville and it started in 2015 with the first winter classic.

It has grown to include the six original NHL alumni teams and held over more days and more events for the public and of course, the reason for the idea, was to raise funds for upgrades at Rotary Park in Downtown Brockville.

The idea started much earlier than that. In 2010 the Rotary Park Revitalization Committee was formed by a dedicated group of Rotarians and other community members to come up with a multi-faceted improvement plan for the park.

Phase one of the improvement project started in 2012 with the installation of the Splash Pad, washrooms, a mechanical room, an accessible playground, synthetic ice, a band shelter and landscaping and path improvements.

In 2014 outdoor refrigeration was installed to give the Ice facility better ice conditions and a longer season.

Then in 2015, a group of friends decided to create an outdoor hockey tournament to help with the fundraising efforts for the Raise The Roof Campaign to put a roof over the outdoor rink. It was the first year of the Brockville Winter Classic which was the coldest to date.

In 2016 was the first of the NHL alumni teams to participate in the weekend. The first one was the Montreal Canadians Alumni. This continues to today.

The original six NHL alumni teams have been featured since 2016 including Boston, New York Rangers, Chicago, Detroit and the Toronto Maple Leafs last year. This year is the Ottawa Senators Alumni. There was no winter classic in 2021 or 2022 due to COVID.

The Raise The Roof Campaign was completed in 2017 with the installation of the new roof. This completed the $2 million in upgrades and the end of the amazing work of the Restoration Committee.

It was also the year the Brockville Winter Classic created a multi-year plan focusing on a purpose-built facility and other outdoor rink improvements.

In 2020, a legacy project for the park from Proctor & Gamble who was leaving the city partnered with the BWC on the project totalling over $1,000,000. The BWC began their fundraising campaign through future events to fulfill its portion of the legacy project.

The new P&G Pavillion opens to the public.

Then in 2023, the fundraising for BWC’s portion of the P&G Pavillion was complete and celebrated with the last of the original six franchises the Toronto Maple Leafs.

This year, the BWC will finish the final phases of the Rotary Project with the installation of sound and lighting, completing the rink-accessible seating and other planned upgrades.

To date, the Rotary Park Revitalization Committee and the Brockville Winter Classic have raised a total of over $4,000,000 in upgrades at Rotary Park. This is a great achievement for the many volunteers over the years.