North Hill tabbed for outdoor rink

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This article was published 12/12/2023 (1024 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The City of Brandon is shopping for an outdoor board system so it can set up an outdoor skating surface in the Sportsplex’s overflow parking lot.

In 2023 budget deliberations, Coun. Heather Karrouze successfully convinced her colleagues to approve $125,000 in funding for an outdoor ice surface to be installed in her ward because there are currently none in the area.

“In the existing budget line, there’s $125,000 allocated to upgrade the playground near the Sportsplex where the paddling pool used to be,” Karrouze said on Jan. 29. “Because of the proximity to an excellent playground at Kirkcaldy (Heights) School, I’m proposing that rather than use that $125,000 to add to the playground, we take it and add what we need to it to create an outdoor rink.”

According to Heather Reimer, the city’s director of recreation, city administration determined that the playground area to the northeast of the Sportsplex would be the best home for that ice surface.

However, that determination was made before the ice plant for the Sportsplex’s indoor rink was shut down back in March due to safety concerns and plans were set in motion to renovate the facility.

“Since the analysis of potential locations for the outdoor rink, the Sportsplex Arena was decommissioned and plans were put in place for renovations and expansion of the Sportsplex facility, including the leveling of the front entrance, and expansion into the north-east Playground and overflow parking areas,” Reimer wrote in an email.

“For the 2023/2024 season, city administration’s intention is to place the outdoor rink in the overflow parking lot to the north of the Sportsplex. This will not be possible in future years once the indoor arena is back up and running and renovations to the facility proceed, however the city is purchasing a modular system which can be moved to different locations.”

The city’s open tender for the purchase of the boards closes today and Reimer wrote that the system is expected to arrive sometime in January.

It states that the system, once installed, will be approximately 175 long and 75 feet wide.

Reached by email, Karrouze wrote she is “absolutely delighted” that the project is becoming a reality.

“Ward 1 is home to many families with children who will enjoy access to a free opportunity for fun and recreation and I look forward to the rink becoming a gathering place for neighbours,” she wrote. “I am pleased that the city is able to create this space which will provide physical as well as social benefits, in the years to come.”

Last month, Brandon solicited bids for an engineering design of the new ice plant, which it is hoping will be operational by the end of 2024.

Three firms submitted bids for the work, according to the city’s website: Alliance Engineering Services, Verne Reimer Architecture and KGS Group. The contract has yet to be awarded by Brandon City Council.

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