City partners with Cavendish Farms to sponsor westside leisure complex

By Alejandra Pulido-Guzman - Lethbridge Herald on February 1, 2023.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman Mayor Blaine Hyggen and Cavendish Farms president Richard Irving, unveil the new look for the newly renamed Cavendish Farms Centre Tuesday at the westside facility.

LETHBRIDGE HERALDapulido@lethbridgeherald.com

The Crossings Leisure Complex, formerly known as the ATB Centre, will now be named Cavendish Farms Centre thanks to a new sponsorship from Cavendish Farms.

The City of Lethbridge announced Tuesday that they entered a $1 million, 10-year sponsorship agreement for $100,000 a year with Cavendish Farms.

President of Cavendish Farms, Robert Irving, said it is all about giving back to the communities where they do businesses.

“We think it’s important to give back where our employees work and live and help in every aspect of the community, whether be health, arts, sports. We feel it’s important to give back and today is just an example of what we’re doing in our other communities as well,” said Irving.

He said they employ 300 people in Lethbridge.

“What’s exciting for us is that it’s 10 years as of this month when we first came to Lethbridge and we’re very proud of our growth. When we first came, we started about 150 million pounds in terms of our plant capacity and today we’re doing over 460 million pounds,” said Irving.

Mayor Blaine Hyggen said it was a very exciting day when Cavendish first came to Lethbridge 10 years ago and with their expansion five years ago, and to see where they are at now.

“It’s amazing what Cavendish has done within our community, the sponsorships, the employees that live, work and play right here in Lethbridge and for what they bring to our community,” said Hyggen.

 He said having Cavendish come to the table for the sponsorship is incredibly welcome and the money will be used to offset taxation, reducing the need for property tax funding from residents as well as to support the operations of the facility and programming.

The facility will begin rebranding to the Cavendish Farms Centre name immediately with new signage being installed inside and outside the building over the next several weeks.

 “We also want to take the opportunity to thank ATB Financial for their sponsorship of the facility over the last six years,” said Hyggen.

“It’s the commitment of businesses like ATB and Cavendish Farms that helps make our community thrive.”

 ATB was the title sponsor of the facility from 2016 to 2021 with the agreement extending to 2022 due to closures during the pandemic. This initial five-year agreement was worth $402,800.

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