A community centre in one of the most affluent neighbourhoods in Winnipeg has a plan to replace one of the most run-down rinks in town.
The Corydon Community Centre (CCC) has made a proposal to the city to buy the Charles A. Barbour Arena for $1, build a "twin-plex" adjacent to it and then bulldoze the 50-year-old facility.
Pat O'Connor, president of CCC, said his board has commissioned drawings of what the approximately $15 million project could look like. If it gets the green light from city council, he'd like the arena's two rinks to be up and running in 2014 or 2015.
There are 15 city-owned rinks in Winnipeg, most of them built in the 1960s, but their cramped dressing rooms, co-ed washrooms, poor seating and occasional smaller dimensions - some rinks are only 185 feet long, instead of the conventional 200 feet - no longer fit the needs of today's hockey community, O'Connor said.
The Chipman family-owned MTS Iceplex is the newest and most successful multi-plex in town with four ice sheets, including one that serves as the practice facility for the Winnipeg Jets.
O'Connor said he and members of his board have toured the MTS Iceplex and taken notes on what works well and what needs improvement so they can apply it to their facility.
Mayor Sam Katz said there are currently three private rink proposals on his docket, but he declined to name the other two.
from Western Investor March 2013
