Drago: How can Sudbury not have a sports hall of fame yet?

Nearly 250 individuals have been inducted into the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame since 1962. Each year, a new class is inducted and each year, following their induction ceremony, those names are quickly forgotten.

Joe Drago, Sudbury native and chair of the Hockey Canada board of directors, said for all the pride he feels for his hometown, the lack of a physical structure to commemorate those inductees is his greatest source of shame.

“I'm a proud Sudburian, but there's one item I'm not happy about — the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame,” he said at a fundraising dinner April 21 at the Caruso Club.

The dinner, hosted by the Sudbury House of Kin, was a first step toward raising the $2.9 million required to establish a permanent sports hall of fame in the city. The evening included a keynote address by Tom Renney, Hockey Canada president and CEO, as well as live and silent auctions.

In his position with Hockey Canada, Drago travels extensively across the country and has seen what other cities have done to celebrate their athletes.

“We have seen some great halls of fame across Canada,” he said. “We should be ashamed we don't have somewhere to display our athletes. We have over 60 people who have participated in the Olympics.”

The idea for the facility has been in the works for nearly 60 years, according to Chris Sheridan, founder and president of the House of Kin.

“With hard work, we’ll see it become a reality in the near future,” he said. “So far, $640,000 has been raised for the project. We're on the right track now.”

The hall, which will be built as a 5,000 sq. ft extension on the Gerry McCrory Countryside Sports Complex, will feature galleries of past winners, Ask The Expert stations and rotating interactive exhibits, designed by staff at Science North.

“This is going to be so different from any sports halls of fame you've seen in the past,” Drago said. “It's going to be hands-on, state of the art and it will be changing every time. It will be a dream come true to have this hall up and running.”

A new class of inductees will be added to the Sports Hall of Fame at the 47th annual House of Kin Sports Celebrity Dinner and Awards, set for June 10 at the Caruso Club.

For more information on the Greater Sudbury Sports Hall of Fame, visit greatersudburysportshalloffame.com.