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Picture this. It’s a beautiful summer Sunday afternoon as you wait to board the MetroTrain in Lower Sackville to take you to the Schooner Dome at Shannon Park Entertainment District. It’s game day in Halifax as our football team is taking on the Western Division champs.

Others are boarding commuter trains in Eastern Passage, Enfield, Bedford and Halifax, along with ferries from downtown and Bedford, to join the festivities. You want to get there early, as you are meeting up with friends at one of the many pubs located in the entertainment district before the game.

Buses arrive from all over Atlantic Canada, bringing in the legions of fans the Atlantic Schooners have gained. They’ll come for the game but will stay to shop, eat and spend in our beautiful city.

Countless others will arrive and enjoy a day of entertainment at this beautiful facility overlooking our historic harbour; hundreds of thousands will watch the live broadcast.

This could be the future if our leaders are willing to be bold, but we need help from the many who will benefit, not just at a cost to taxpayers.

Governments — municipal, provincial and federal — will all benefit from the increased tax revenue created by visitors and the larger population base that will be created. Local businesses will also benefit from the influx of visitors that come, for not only football but trade shows and other cultural events this facility will attract. These visitors rent cars, stay in our hotels, eat in our restaurants and become ambassadors when they go home recommending Halifax as a great place to go.

National corporate sponsorship will benefit from naming rights and advertising promotions seen during the live TV telecasts.

And, of course, Schooners Sports and Entertainment will benefit, but they need to have some skin in the game. This is a business, by the way, and it needs to be managed properly to achieve a positive bottom line.

But what about the universities — isn’t there a need for SMU and Dal to have a world class venue to host their games? What about the Uteck Bowl or Vanier Cup being hosted here? How many students would now be interested in coming to study here and stay here with the increase in culture and entertainment that would be created?

Is there also a need for the many sports organizations across our city and province to have a great facility to host their league championships or provincial tournaments?

What about the lower health-care costs that will be achieved from the healthy lifestyle that sports promote?

Halifax needs this in order to grow and be a world-class city. We need to grow to pay for the many services we require. Let’s look further down the road to see all the great benefits this facility will bring to our beautiful city; we need to #BeBold and not give this wonderful opportunity to Moncton.

By the way, the Schooners won the game.

Bryan Beauvais lives in Middle Sackville.

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