BMO Centre awarded $150K grant to help pay for pandemic recovery

Tom Partalas, president and general manager of the London Optimist Centre speaks to guests on Saturday, January 21.(Jenn Basa/ CTV London)

On Saturday afternoon, the London Optimist Sports Centre announced that it was awarded a $150,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.

(LOSC) which operates and owns the BMO Centre was given the Resilient Communities Fund grant which has helped organizations recover from income loss due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"The impact of this Ontario Trillium Foundation grant cannot be underestimated," said Tom Partalas, president and general manager of LOSC. Partalas said the grant has helped pay for covid-19 safety protocols that had to be implemented earlier in the pandemic, which allow for guests and staff to operate safely in the building.

The funding also allows the facility to purchase more equipment, supplies, and programs. One new program coming up is the youth master program. The centre is also planning on building an indoor training zone and virtual room.

"Athletic institutions or agencies that have suffered when there were such restrictions and now we have to help them get back on their feet," said Teresa Armstrong, MPP for London-Fanshawe.

"There's such an appetite for people get back into those activities and this fund will help them keep up," she said.