The son of Honey and Barry Sherman will donate $52 million to build an NHL-sized hockey arena north of Toronto in honour of the murdered couple.
The facility, dubbed the Honey and Barry Memorial Arena, was announced by the Jewish Foundation of Greater Toronto Friday. It will be constructed on the property of the existing Joseph and Wolf Lebovic Jewish Campus on Bathurst Street in Vaughan, Ont., the organization said.
Scheduled to open in 2025, the facility will feature two twin rinks offering an array of on-ice programming to residents.
“My mother and father were visionaries who believed that our community should be one in which everyone is welcomed and included in shared experiences,” Jonathon Sherman said in a written statement issued alongside the arena's announcement.
“By prioritizing affordability as a core objective, it will enable more community members and families to build strong connections with each other and share their love of sports through engagement with the community as a whole,” the statement continues.
Jeff Rosenthal, Chair of UJA Federation, said Friday the organization is "immensely grateful to Jonathon for this generous gift."
"From our experiences working with Honey and Barry, we know that this is certainly something they would be very proud of," Rosenthal added.
On Dec. 13, 2017, Barry, 75, and Honey, 70, were found dead in a semi-seated position on the deck of their North York home’s indoor pool, hanging by belts from a railing.
While some police sources initially suggested to media outlets that the incident could have been a murder-suicide, police eventually classified it as a double homicide.
Almost 6 years later, the case remains unsolved.
