Headline News

Sudden name change to NTRC sparks debate and concern among local organizations

November 13, 2025   ·   0 Comments

By Brian Lockhart

Local users and organizations arriving at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre in Alliston were recently surprised to see a new sign at the facility naming it the Alliston Community Centre.

On top of that, members of the 54 Plus Club, which has its own space at the rear of the facility, were shocked to find someone had renamed the club the “Older Adult Centre.”

The renaming of the facility caused considerable concern from several local groups who have a major stake in the arenas.

There seems to be no one who claims responsibility for the sudden name change.

Long-time TNT Minor Hockey president, Donna Horan, spoke at the Monday, Nov. 3, New Tecumseth Council meeting and explained how the sudden name change would impact TNT hockey.

“Obviously, there’s a communication gap between Council and staff as to what happened with the sign,” Horan said. “We would like to know how it got done without any communication to your largest ice users, being TNT who paid $500,000 last year and will be paying close to $600,000 this year, and the Alliston Hornets who will be paying $130,000. No communication was made to us at all.”

Horan said that a name change would require that TNT Minor Hockey would have to change their insurance, game sheets, and schedules to the new name.

She also said the hockey club is known to play at the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre by all other leagues, and a name change would cause confusion.

The hockey club was supported by several members of the 54 Plus Club who were in the gallery during the meeting and weren’t happy with their group being renamed without their consent.

“We were blind sided,” said Ken Cowen, president of the Alliston Hornets Hockey Club. “Our schedule is set up with our location, and at the time, it was the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre. Our insurance states where we play our games. If the name changed, we would have had to get our insurance redone so that it stated Alliston Community Centre. As for the PJHL, they would not redo the schedule. All this could have been avoided with a little communication back in June or July. Also, the new sign did not have a place to state ‘Home of the Alliston Hornets Hockey Club,’ ‘TNT Minor Hockey, or the ‘Icecats.’

Prior to Monday’s meeting, Ward 6 Councillor Nicole Cox submitted a written motion to request a formal town facility naming and renaming policy.

The motion states, “The name ‘New Tecumseth Recreation Centre’ was chosen intentionally to represent the unity of all three urban areas and our rural residents, symbolizing a shared municipal identity rather than one limited to a single community.”

The motion goes on to say, “A recent change to exterior signage identifying the facility as the ‘Alliston Community Centre’ was made without Council direction or approval.’ This change is not only inconsistent with all existing Town documentation, branding, and web content, which continue to identify the facility as the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre, but also creates public confusion given that Alliston already has an established and distinctly named Alliston Memorial Arena.”

The motion requested that Council direct staff to immediately correct the facility signage to reflect the proper Council-approved name, the “New Tecumseth Recreation Centre,” and that Council direct staff to prepare a draft Facility Naming and Renaming Policy.

The motion was passed, and New Tecumseth Mayor Richard Norcross assured those in the gallery that the offending signs would be removed and the New Tecumseth Recreation Centre would keep its current name. 

Readers Comments (0)