To understand a little better just what led up to the decision to build Dixie Arena, we look at the events that unfolded in 1948. In that year, an effort was made by the Cooksville Businessmen’s Association (CBA) to build an arena. This venture failed miserably and caused much discontent. The plan almost ended in a lawsuit filed by the Cooksville Fire Brigade. On one occasion the press was even barred from a meeting.
On April 22, 1948, (CBA) President Gordon Harris announced that a meeting would be held Tuesday, May 25 at the Orange Hall and a model of the proposed arena developed by Toronto architect J. B. Templin would be shown to 55 selected guests.
The CBA members had earlier discussed the concept of travelling to Burford, Ontario to purchase an air force hanger but that idea proved to be impractical and was eliminated. The architect’s proposal for a 2,700-seat arena met with the approval of the group. The structure would be 85 feet by 185 feet and building costs ranged between $140,000 and $180,000. The model was completed and readied for display at the Orange Hall.
The first step toward launching a campaign got off to a very rocky start. Only 30 of 55 selected invited businessmen actually bothered to show up for the meeting on that Tuesday night and for a while it appeared the entire project would be discarded.
The second stumbling block was that those present for the meeting could not agree on how to raise the needed funding. Several people suggested the best approach was to immediately go to Toronto Township Council and get its backing while others argued that the proper procedure was to first obtain a site and then begin to raise funds by subscription. They could then approach Toronto Township Council and ask for its help.