PAGE OCR B10 – OCTOBER 2013 – The Ontario Construction Report North Bay’s Memorial Gardens upgraded in just five months to accommodate relocating OHL Team M. Sullivan and Son Ltd. started $12 million project in May – team plays season opener Oct. 11 Photography: Patrick Gilbert Productions STAFF WRITER – The Ontario Construction Report Special Feature As an intensive five-month, $12 million arena renova- tion concludes, the Ontario Hockey League’s (OHL) newest team – the North Bay Battalion – is preparing for its first home game October 11. M. Sullivan and Son Ltd. is completing the project to bring the former Brampton Battalion north after 15 years in the Toronto area. North Bay hasn’t seen OHL action since the North Bay Centennials left for Michigan in 2002. The project has been funded through a $5 million inter- est-free loan from the Battalion, $3.9 million from the city and $1 million from the provincial government. The bal- ance will be raised through capital reserve fees on other area events. It includes renovations to an existing 5,977 sq. m. steel frame, block and masonry arena, plus a 652 sq. m. addition. Peter Chirico, the City of North Bay’s managing direc- tor of community services, explains the compressed sched- ule. “We had to sell enough season tickets to be awarded the team so that happened by December. By that time though we had commitments for use of the arena right through to the start of May (including the round robin Dud- ley Hewitt Cup to decide the Central Canadian Junior A Champion) so the contractor couldn’t get in fully until we closed the Gardens May 6.” Meanwhile, the team needed to be on the ice by the third week of August to begin training camp in time for the Oc- tober season opener. Tim Pruner, M. Sullivan and Son Ltd.’s vice-president of business development, says the contractor took on con- struction management responsibilities when drawings were not very advanced, appreciating the challenging schedule. Relationships helped. The builder is Canada’s longest-es- tablished family-owned construction business. Pruner said responsibilities included fast-track planning