Grace Bowen Arena naming complete with help of actor Ryan Reynolds

Actor Ryan Reynolds and the Grace Bowen family speaking during an arena renaming ceremony. By Dan Jones. Northumberland 89.7 FM News, LJI
All photos by Dan Jones.

By: Dan Jones, Northumberland 89.7 FM News, Local Journalism Initiative.

The Pond Arena at the Cobourg Community Centre is no more, as Town officials, with the lobbying efforts of actor Ryan Reynolds, renamed the ice surface the Grace Bowen Arena.

The renaming was months in the making after Reynolds appeared before Cobourg Council in April suggesting the name change, as Grace, an avid hockey player died of Osteosarcoma, the same form of cancer Terry Fox died from.

In a fitting tribute to both, Grace would have celebrated her 20th birthday today, the same day Canadians participated

in the Terry Fox Run, to raise funds for cancer research. Reynolds and Grace met at a Canada’s Walk of Fame Ceremony. He said upon meeting her, she changed his life, for the better, adding her profound impact on local hockey warranted a lifetime honouring.

“Greg [Grace’s father] had mentioned the Pond Arena is where Grace played hockey and I thought why isn’t that called the Grace Bowen Arena? I don’t know, ask the question who knows? Then, I was worried that it was a war hero named Staff Sergeant Randy Pond, who gave his everything for our county and was lost on the battlefield, but nope, just pond, a body of water,” Reynolds told the crowd at the dedication ceremony Sunday.

When Grace was eight-years-old, a sore knee felt by her was in fact a broken femur, caused by Osteosarcoma, an aggressive form of bone cancer. While receiving treatment at SickKids Hospital in Toronto, Grace formed relationships with Canadian hockey icon Hayley Wickenheiser and Reynolds.

One of Greg Bowen’s biggest fears is that he would not hear someone else say his daughter’s name again which is now changed as her legacy will be on display everyday.

“One of the last pictures I have of Grace here, is basically right there in front of that opening at the canteen. She was on her crutches and I was just coming through the door and she was by herself. It hit me right then that it could be your last time in this rink. And it certainly was. I stare at that picture often. I’ve spent hundreds of hours on that sheet of ice and on that bench with a broken heart,” an emotional Greg Bowen explained.

A plaque honouring Grace will be installed at the arena as well.