New non-profit raising funds for indoor turf facility

Let’s All Play, a new Thunder Bay non-profit, is raising money for the city’s multi-use indoor turf facility.

The city government has pledged $36 million to build the facility, which it hopes will be ready by next fall. But with such a hefty price tag, the city has said it welcomes additional private sector fundraising.

The fundraising campaign, called Play it Forward, will allow teams of five to compete in peer-to-peer fundraising with a chance to win prizes.

Michael Veneziale, President of Let’s All Play, has pledged a $10,000 matching donation to get the campaign going. The campaign is aiming top raise $100,000.

“We really believe in this facility. Not just for the users, but for the community,” says Veneziale. “I truly believe that when this is done, we’re going to wonder how we lived without it.”

Veneziale is also the CEO of Soccer Northwest. In that role, he says he has to turn down about 1,500 kids in soccer programs each year due to a lack of winter spaces.

Once built, the new turf facility will offer the city all-season indoor facilities for a wide range of activities, which will fill that demand.

“This is something that everyone in the community can get behind because it has value to so many different organizations,” says Thunder Bay Mayor Ken Boshcoff. “Three years from now, people are going to be asking, why did it take us so long?”

The Play it Forward campaign is just one piece of the non-profits fundraising efforts. In total, it hopes to raise $1 million, though that number includes a $500,000 donation from the Community Economic Development Commission’s Tourism and Development Fund.