New Minnedosa arena a long time coming

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This article was published 11/09/2023 (729 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

MINNEDOSA—Westman residents showed up in droves to get a sneak peek at the new Sunrise Credit Union Centre, a project that’s 15 years in the making.

Throughout Saturday afternoon, members of the public were invited to tour this roughly 4,200-square-foot multi-recreational facility, formally known as the Minnedosa Regional Events Centre, which houses an ice rink, an indoor running track, a full kitchen and other modern amenities.

The Sun and other regional media outlets were given an advanced look at the centre in the morning, where Minnedosa chief administrative officer Jim Doppler revealed that the sheer size of this arena will allow the town to comfortably host a variety of high-profile events in the future, like socials and trade shows.

“The opportunities are endless but we don’t have anything specific lined up yet, because the first step is we’ve got to get into the building and get it operational,” Doppler said.

“The plan is that the staff are going to start training on the 14th of September. We will hopefully start to make ice on the 18th of September, with the goal to be operational [and] open to user groups the first week of October.”

While there is still plenty of work to do, Saturday’s grand opening and ribbon-cutting ceremony served as a cathartic celebration of all the blood, sweat and tears that’s gone into making this new recreational facility a reality.

Scott Burgess serves as a member of the organizing committee responsible for spearheading this project and told the audience over the weekend that he originally approached the town council in 2008 with a proposal to renovate the old Minnedosa District Arena.

This structure was originally established in 1947 after serving as an airplane hangar at a nearby military base.

However, the retrofitted arena had fallen into disrepair over the past couple decades, with its modest ice surface and aging infrastructure no longer keeping pace with the needs of the region.

The issues were so severe that then mayor Duane LaCoste and his council eventually came to the conclusion that building a brand new recreational centre would be a better long-term solution.

“With all the talented and knowledgeable people who stepped up to help with this project, wants and needs were identified and the work of fundraising began,” Burgess said.

Of course, the Town of Minnedosa did receive some outside help to get this project off the ground.

In the summer of 2021, local organizers received $3.75 million in combined funding from the federal and provincial governments, giving them the push they needed to finally get the ball rolling on building this roughly $9.3 million facility.

“So after 15 years, hundreds of meetings, thousands of emails, four mayors, five premiers and dozens of naysayers … we did it!” Burgess said on Saturday, eliciting thunderous applause from the audience.

A large chunk of Saturday’s grand opening ceremony was dedicated to thanking the legion of volunteers and contractors who spent so much of their time over the past decade-and-a-half making sure this project never faltered.

One of the key figures responsible for keeping everyone on track was physical education specialist Jon Lewis, whose numerous contributions to the local sports community include helping Minnedosa host events like the Canada Games, Pan Am Games and Manitoba Summer Games.

“His legacy from these games includes the tennis courts at the school, the softball diamonds at the fairgrounds and the crowning of the soccer field at [Minnedosa Collegiate Institute],” friend Jacki Nylen said during Saturday’s ceremony.

Lewis poured a similar amount of passion into what’s now known as the Sunrise Credit Union Centre, being a leading member of the original organizing committee who dealt with both the positive and negative reactions to the construction of the arena.

Unfortunately, Lewis suddenly passed away last November at the age of 72, meaning he never got to see the end result of all his hard work.

However, Lewis’ family was front and centre during Saturday’s festivities, with son Wesley telling the Sun that his father’s dedication to this project will reverberate throughout the community well into the future, especially for his three young daughters who are involved in both hockey and figure skating.

“I’m definitely thinking about dad as I’m walking through the rooms … getting super excited to get into it and play some hockey games and watch these young kids play some hockey too,” Wesley said. “The next generation got an awesome building here.”

Lewis was further immortalized on Saturday through the unveiling of a new street sign near the Sunrise Credit Union Centre, with the road leading up to the arena now being formally known as “Jon Lewis Way.”

Saturday’s grand opening for the Sunrise Credit Union Centre also served as a memorial of sorts for the Minnedosa District Arena, which is in the process of being decommissioned.

Community member Bruce McNabb took some time on Saturday to highlight the role the old facility played in the community over the past seven decades, especially since it’s where professional athletes like Ron Chipperfield (hockey) and Diane Ogibowski (figure skating) got their start.

But outside of being a breeding ground for major talent, McNabb remembers the “old barn” as a place where local families spent countless hours in good company and created memories that will last a lifetime.

“When we think back we don’t remember the results of the games, but we do remember the people we met, the fun we had and the lessons we learned on and off the ice,” he said.

“That old beloved barn served us well and it has been a staple of the community for many years. But it’s time to keep growing our hockey and skating families and start making new memories in this [new] facility.”

The Sunrise Credit Union Centre houses around 400 seats and has a capacity of 1,000 people.

» kdarbyson@brandonsun.com