Loss of Sportsplex rink impacts many

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This article was published 17/06/2023 (984 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The Wheat City is back down to four indoor ice rinks for the foreseeable future.

After initially closing on March 2 due to concerns with the ammonia ice plant, the arena inside the Sportsplex will not reopen for the 2023-24 season.

Patrick Pulak, general manager of operations with the City of Brandon, told The Brandon Sun last week the ice plant can either be repaired for more than $300,000 or replaced at a cost of more than $1 million.

In a press release that came out on June 9 from the City of Brandon Parks and Recreation Services, a planned recreational needs assessment and conceptual design for the Sportsplex Arena will be taking place over the next few months.

That will determine whether there is a need for an ice plant and arena, or the redevelopment of the facility to an indoor turf and sport court.

Whatever is in store for the rink, which was opened a few months before the 1979 Canada Winter Games, those who use it on a regular basis are adapting on the fly.

Tournaments

One of the first people that had to make changes was Darryl Wolski, owner and organizer of the AAA Hockey Challenge that runs in Brandon during the spring.

He had games scheduled for the Sportsplex in April, but the arena closure forced him to make other plans.

“I remember sending the Sportsplex an email and asking them, ‘Should I be worried about this?’ but I never heard anything back,” Wolski said. “At that point, I said ‘All right, I better execute Plan B.’

“I looked at having games in Wawanesa, Rivers or Shilo, but we couldn’t do that because those rinks were pretty much done by the end of March. We had the option to go to Virden, but once the Wheat Kings didn’t make the playoffs, that allowed us to use all three rinks at the Keystone Centre, plus J&G (Homes Arena).”

Wolski has dates already set in stone for the spring of 2024 and is under the assumption that the rink won’t be up and running by then.

The inability to use the Sportsplex is also likely to affect the schedules for events like the Tournament of Champions and the Victoria Inn High School Hockey Tournament.

“Would it be better to have one more rink as a buffer so to speak? Sure, but if the city doesn’t want to spend up to $2 million to get the rink going again, I kind of get it too.”

Speed Skating

The Westman Speed Skating Club had a hunch they wouldn’t see ice in the Sportsplex this fall.

As such, they were able to secure ice time within the Keystone Centre, though it has yet to be seen if they will use the Flynn or Enns Brothers Arena.

“It was very important for us to get that sorted out as soon as possible,” said Jeff Kasprick, who is involved in various capacities within the club.

“When we first contacted the Keystone, there weren’t a lot of organizations looking for ice at that point. Now that we’ve got our agreement in place, everyone’s looking for ice.

“Without the pre-planning that we did, there’s a very good chance that we would have had to go outside of Brandon in order to skate this season.”

In terms of the future, Kasprick says they are currently playing things by ear as they await the fate of the Sportsplex arena.

“Right now, our plan is to stay at the Keystone for the time being,” he added.

ACC Cougars

While it hadn’t been officially announced to the public, the Assiniboine Community College Cougars women’s hockey team had their practice times and their games for the 2023-24 American Collegiate Hockey Association campaign pretty much put to bed.

“Then we got the notification that the Sportsplex wasn’t going to be in operation for this season,” Cougars head coach Tony Bertone said.

“From what we had heard before that, the ice plant was going to be back in service around the end of September and that it wouldn’t affect our schedule. Then I guess things must have changed when they got the quotes in.

“We were optimistic that the ice was going to go in and we’d carry on like we’ve done since the Sportsplex became our home rink. We’ve really enjoyed it.”

Once the news came out, Bertone’s phone started blowing up with texts from players asking him what was going on.

He immediately reached out to Cougars athletics manager Lindsay McLaughlin, who told him that the school had reached out to the Keystone Centre and J&G Homes Arena for ice availability.

“A lot of that work on the schedule is done well ahead of time as (team manager) Larry Shannon is getting in touch with the American schools and throwing dates out to them to see what works best for them,” Bertone said.

“It’s not just us that’s thrown for a loop though. Those other schools have to change things and it affects other teams like the Vincent Massey Vikings.”

Hockey Brandon

Like Bertone, Hockey Brandon president Tim Lang was surprised to hear the Sportsplex wasn’t going to be in use this winter.

Since the announcement was made, there’s been several discussions with the board members and ice allocator Al Sellars as they put together a plan for the 2023-24 season.

“Teams that haven’t historically shared ice for the last few years will probably have to do so again and we’ll likely see a reduction of ice time across the board,” Lang said. “It was disappointing to tell that to our members, but it is out of our hands.

“We’ve reached out to some of the smaller communities around Brandon, but their ice is booked up for next year as well. We certainly can’t manufacture another ice surface in a short span, so this is something that everyone’s going to be feeling here for a bit.”

In a way, those who are looking for ice time in Brandon are back to where things were before the J&G Homes Arena opened its doors in December 2021.

“This isn’t something that’s going to only affect Hockey Brandon,” Lang said. “There are recreation programs, public skating and a lot of user groups that are going to feel the loss of the Sportsplex.

“Other than outdoor rinks, there’s nothing on a grassroots level indoors at the moment for kids who want to skate in the city. I feel for them.”

» lpunkari@brandonsun.com

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