The provincial government has committed $5 million towards the future Performing Arts Centre for Steinbach .

Dawson Trail MLA Ron Lemieux made a stop in Steinbach Friday morning to make the announcement.

The $5 million will go towards the first phase of the multi use complex being planned for the city. The funding is part of a $325 million pot called the Community Development Fund, which will see money dispersed over the next five years.

"That's a significant amount of dollars," says Mayor Chris Goertzen. "That goes a long way towards the partnerships that we need to make this come to fruition for our city."

"It's a great contribution to a great project," notes Lemieux.

According to Lemieux, Steinbach is the hub of the southeast. He says not only is it a regional destination for people to buy their groceries or watch sports but it is also a city where people consider relocating to. And Lemieux says when looking for a place to live, people want to know about hospitals, personal care homes, Churches, shopping, recreation and culture.

"I believe this will help Steinbach grow and thrive and really boom in the future," he says.

Goertzen says the scope of the Performing Arts Centre is still being worked out and right now they are going through the community consultation process. But he says the estimation is for a centre that is between $15-$18 million.

The city has said it will contribute a maximum of $7.5 million but that at least fifty per cent of the funding must come from other levels of government and private donations.

"Five million dollars moves this closer to reality," says Goertzen. "We look forward to looking for additional partnerships, not only from the provincial government but also from the federal government and the private sector to make sure that this is a fiscally responsible project and yet something that we can all be proud of as a city."

Federal funding has still not been committed and Goertzen says the city looks forward to making those requests in the coming weeks.

"I'm doing everything I can to work with the federal culture and heritage to ensure that they support this project," notes Lemieux.

Lemieux says the federal government should match the provincial contribution.

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