Fall opening expected for ice rink at Sportsplex

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This article was published 07/07/2025 (273 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The hockey rink at the Brandon Community Sportsplex should be open for use by the middle of fall, according to the city’s manager of recreation.

The ice rink located at 30 Knowlton Dr. has been closed since March 2023 because of safety concerns over potential ammonia leaks from the ice plant, which can be fatal under certain circumstances.

“We expect to be finished this fall, and I know that can be a bit of a wide range of dates,” Heather Reimer said on Monday, adding the fall for them is anywhere from Sept. 1 to Dec. 31.

“We try not to pinpoint an exact date at this time, because … construction can be a little up and down. We want to avoid disappointment.”

On Friday, Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett said bookings are set to start as early as the middle of October.

Some city staff toured the under-construction building about two weeks ago. Fawcett said at that point the concrete had been redone, and things had just been painted.

“It just has a nice, flat concrete surface, everything’s been redone,” Fawcett said. “It wasn’t much to look at, kind of unimpressive in that way.”

Reimer said the concrete has to set before the boards can go up, and it’s just a matter of waiting before that can happen.

“That concrete slab has to cure for a number of days before it can be … sound. So we have probably another couple weeks before the boards can go in.”

The ice quality should be better than it was before, she said, because of an HVAC system that will reduce humidity in the arena.

“We’re going to have better temperature control, better humidity control, and all of those things absolutely contribute to ice quality.”

The centre’s canteen is also set to reopen after renovations are completed.

Last used in 2019, it will reopen “a month or so after the arena gets rolling,” according to Reimer. There are three bidders currently hoping to serve food out of the facility.

Reimer didn’t share who the bidders are, but the Sun was able to find them through the city’s purchasing and tenders page online.

The three companies are Los Brothers, Sabor Latino and Tastee’s Ice Cream and Grill.

Sabor Latino owner Ana Beltran said since the application deadline in late May, they haven’t heard any updates on when a decision for the new operator might be made.

She said the restaurant put in an application in order to expand and show the quality of its food to more people. It would serve a smaller menu, but keep its “unique flavour,” she said.

Chez Angela Bakery and Café was awarded as the canteen’s operator in November 2022, shortly before the facility was closed, but isn’t one of the three companies who put in bids.

While it did cater at the Sportsplex, it was never able to operate out of the canteen.

Chez Angela general manager James Chambers said the two-month span that bids were open for the canteen was a really busy time for the bakery — which also does a lot of catering — and it wasn’t able to submit an application.

The bakery asked for an extension of the deadline, but was denied, Chambers said.

“There was a lot to do to update our bid, and we just didn’t make it in time,” Chambers told the Sun at the bakery on 10th Street. “It’s unfortunate.”

He said the city gave companies enough time to submit their bids, it just didn’t work for Chez Angela.

Chambers added that so much had changed for the canteen itself, that it made sense for the city to go back to bidding, instead of reoffering them the contract.

“It changed so dramatically from what the original vision of it was going to be that it had to go back to procurement to find the right fit,” he said.

Reimer also said the city will make sure to carve out public skate time around the busy rental schedule, with a “number of sessions” per week.

The sessions will be between an hour and two hours long each, Reimer said.

There has already been a lot of booking requests, she added.

“We’ve actually had a really overwhelming response from a lot of different hockey groups and skating groups in the community.”

The rink is also on budget, Reimer said, with $6.3 million going toward the new ice plant and upgrades. She said multiple reserves will be depleted once work is done, with $700,000 from the Sportsplex reserve, and $600,000 from the gas tax.

“I’m happy to say that currently there are no price overruns.”

Naming rights for the Sportsplex itself — and the arena, pool, racquetball courts and outdoor track — haven’t been set yet, she said. The naming rights will help alleviate some future costs of maintaining the facility and take on future projects.

» alambert@brandonsun.com, with files from Michele McDougall