The organization of the Orange Alouette tournament takes a position with a letter entitled: An arena is not just for hockey. The outdated Conrad-Parent arena provides volleyball courts for high-level teams, practice courts in the weeks preceding the tournament for volleyball fans and hosts development clinics for representatives of the North Shore at the Quebec Games , recalls the Orange Tournament.
The organizers of the region's largest annual sporting event are adding their voices to those of the Sept-Îles ice sports community. They specify that the future infrastructure will include new amenities, to allow for example the holding of an indoor walking club and universal accessibility, since the arena built in 1962 does not allow wheelchair travel.
“We are not talking here about a choice between maintaining Conrad-Parent or building a new arena. Our choices are as follows: maintaining services thanks to a new arena OR the certain demolition of Conrad-Parent in the years to come due to its obsolescence. This project is vital for the future of the tournament,” it reads.
The Orange Tournament publishes a real cry from the heart. He invites convinced athletes to participate in the mobilization, by talking about it at home and at work. “Will the Tournament have to choose between reducing the number of teams or eliminating volleyball? Will the Book Fair have to move? An arena is a large-scale performance hall, a factor of economic growth, a commitment to the health of our population, all ages combined. »
The letter on the Orange Tournament Facebook page concludes with the words of the honorary president of its 2025 edition and founder of the Santa Claus Parades in the streets of Sept-Îles, Frédéric Gagnon: Enweille, we're doing it!
