Vaudreuil-Dorion council approved the purchase of the Cité des-Jeunes arena for $3.15 million almost two months after the city announced plans to buy the facility. 

The purchase agreement will be signed by Vaudreuil-Dorion and Notre-Dame-de-l'île-Perrot (NDIP). NDIP will manage the facility and rent ice time for the next five years.along with Pincourt and Terrasse-Vaudreuil. 

Vaudreuil-Dorion Mayor Guy Pilon said the city decided to purchase the arena, which was privately owned, to allow the minor hockey leagues and citizens in the three municipalities to continue using the facility.

Five-year agreement

"I advised my council about the matter and we began negotiating with the owner to purchase the arena. This is the place where their teams come to use their ice time," Pilon told Néomédia.

The mayor added that over the next five years, the three municipalities will pay for the mortgage, interest and ‘everything and anything’ that may happen to the arena when it comes to repairs. 

"The will pay the full price for everything. There will be no cost at all for the city," said Pilon.

After the five-year period, the city will determine whether the contract will be renewed or whether the building will be used for another purpose.

"By then the building could be worth $4 million. I think we made the best decision in terms of what's good for our city," Pilon said.

Positive reaction

Pincourt Mayor Claude Comeau said we was pleased with the announcement. The town, along with NDIP and Terrasse-Vaudreuil, all adopted resolutions at their respective council meetings in June supporting Vaudreuil-Dorion's bid to purchase the arena.

"This is what we wanted. We will be operating the arena for the next five years. Our goal was to get Vaudreuil-Dorion to purchase it. It's a move in the right direction and positive. It gives us an opportunity to get our own sports facility on the island," said Comeau.

In June, NDIP Mayor Danie Deschênes hinted the agreement among the three municipalities and Vaudruil-Dorion was intended to move forward with a larger project - the construction of a sports infrastructure facility on Île Perrot.

"Our objective remains the same - create our own sports infrastructure facility. This agreement will enable us to set a timetable for construction. There is a real political will to do so among NDIP, Pincourt and Terrasse-Vaudreuil," said Deschênes.

The agreement will also allow the citizens and various sports associations in the three municipalities to benefit from the arena's ice rink in Vaudreuil-Dorion.