Rink upgrades and construction impacting ice availability in Yorkton

(Sierra D'Souza Butts/CTV News)

With a lack of available indoor ice time in Yorkton, one group has expressed their frustration of having to travel outside of the city to gain access to a rink.

“Yorkton Minor Hockey (YMH) has been impacted by lack of Yorkton ice for years. This is not a new situation,” the association said in a statement to CTV News.

As the city’s Kinsmen Arena plans to have its last day of skating on Dec. 23 – in preparation for construction in the new year - the community will be left with only one indoor rink to use: the Westland Arena.

However, YMH said the shortage of ice time in the city has been an ongoing issue.

“To maintain our current programs we utilize the arenas in surrounding towns,” YHM stated.

“Last season, 54 per cent of YMH Programs, practices and games were at the Kinsmen Arena, 24 per cent at the Westland Arena and the remaining hours were booked in Bredenbury, Theodore, Saltcoats and Springside. We would suspect these percentages, on average, have been the case for 20+ years.”

The City of Yorkton said they worked with YMH “extensively” to find the right time in the year for starting upgrades on the $4.5 million project.

“Obviously a closure at anytime with a project length of about nine months is going to have an impact one way or another,” voiced Taylor Morrison, director of recreation and community services.

“But, working with them (YMH) to start the project in January, allowed us to get things wrapped up in order to start the season, essentially with the new rink, and giving them some time to get their events figured out as well.”

Morrison said the upgrades are expected to be completed by September 2025 in time for next year’s skating season.

Meanwhile the association is pushed to use other community rinks in the area, such as Bredenbury’s SGI Canada Community Arena.

"I always say I'm scheduling for Yorkton Minor Hockey,” shared Kim Vargo, CAO for the Town of Bredenbury.

“(Our bookings) are 95 per cent Yorkton Minor Hockey. At times it’s somewhat frustrating because we don’t have a large enough community to support our rink. We only have 385 people, but we do want to keep our rink open because it is a beautiful facility.”

Because the small town is just 30 minutes outside of Yorkton, Vargo said majority of their rink usage comes from the city and surrounding communities.

"Especially with the kinsmen closing in January for their updates, we've seen an increase of probably 25 per cent in January to March with rentals and more games which is great because it's the games that are our money maker, with having the kitchen open and tournaments,” Vargo said.

"It's nice to have people come in from Yorkton and out of town to support our kitchen and rink. We wouldn't have the rink if we didn't have their support."

The city recommends skating groups take advantage of collaborating with the city to see what works best for them come this season.

"We are working with all of our user groups to try and fit as many people into the Westland Arena that we can,” explained Morrison.

“Alternatively, there are a number of rinks in the surrounding area that I know both minor hockey and some of the other users have been using. Plus we’re in winter, if families are looking to get out and go for a skate, we do have our outdoor rinks and our skating path that will be up and running for the winter as well.”

Built in 1972, the new upgrades to the rink will include arena boards and glass, arena dehumidification and code and safety upgrades in the plant room, along with new bleacher seating with accessible seating areas, replacement of the safety netting surround the ice surface, new sound system, and other improvements.

“When it comes to community engagement, the city has a platform called “Shape your City” which is available for residents on the website,” he said.

“This is where we’re going to be putting all of the information on the Kinsmen Arena project as we go through construction and the renovations. There will be photos, there will be videos, there will be updates as to the progress that we’re making.”