Following is a media release that was sent out earlier today on behalf of True North Strong and Sudbury Wolves Sports & Entertainment, responding to the release of the Price Waterhouse Cooper report that was commissioned by Sudbury city council. The release is more or less verbatim, with only very minor editing completed on the content.

The True North Strong team has reviewed the PwC report and we are pleased to see that the Kingsway site was identified as a priority location, scoring highest on the most important criteria. The city council now has the opportunity to create a new sports & entertainment district while investing in complementary downtown music and arts development.

The report recognizes that the Kingsway site ranks highest for convenient parking, has cost advantages and would be a location with the highest potential for long-term economic development. We note that a second ice-pad and recreation space, which has been consistently part of the vision, was not considered as part of this multi-purpose Event Centre.

In addition, we note the Gateway Casino development, along with associated hotel rooms and convention trade show space, which will serve as a magnet for our community and offer more potential for our region. We have observed overwhelming support since the release of this report, but more importantly, through two years of community consultation helping to shape our vision as well.

It is our view the city has informed options before it and the report recognizes this. We believe that a development like True North Strong is unparalleled and that this project is more important to Greater Sudbury than new investments in traditional industry.

On June 27th, it is our opinion that Council has the opportunity support a vision for the development of a sports and entertainment district. It is the project attached to a plan that allows advancement of complementary investments in tourist attractions, including support for downtown, to develop.

The True North Strong vision has always looked at this project as a catalyst for the benefit of the whole city and therefore seeks to include sports and entertainment initiatives that will improve our region as a whole, maximizing on sport and business tourism as well as quality of life improvements for our region.