A new ice arena in Edmonds is one step closer to reality after council gave the nod to a feasibility and schematic design study of the project.
On Monday, council awarded the project to HCMA Architecture + Design, which will start work on the study in the coming weeks.
The plan is to build a twin arena facility at a site at 10th Avenue and 18th Street in the Edmonds area.
The city had looked at a few other locations, but eventually settled on the site, in part because of the expected growth in the area.
Council was quick to praise the project and its location.
Coun. Sav Dhaliwal suggested South Burnaby residents have been patiently waiting for ice in their community, adding there are a fair amount of users looking for extra ice.
“It’s long overdue, these two sheets will serve the growing population both in Metrotown as well as the Edmonds area,” he said.
There are currently three city-owned rinks in Burnaby: Bill Copeland Sports Centre, Burnaby Lake Arena and Kensington Arena. Bill Copeland was the last city arena to be built, back in 1997.
Dhaliwal said the new rink will also allow the city to take down and plan something new for the Burnaby Lake rink in the future.
It was a sentiment echoed by Mayor Derek Corrigan, who noted, with the addition of two new rinks, the city will be OK to rebuild the Burnaby Lake arena.
“Part of what we’re trying to do is to continue to service people in the community while we’re rehabilitating infrastructure that’s reached beyond its useful age,” he said.
Meanwhile, the city has put aside $250,000 to fund the feasibility study, with part of that budget going into geotechnical and environmental assessments. Updates on the study will be reported through the city financial management committee.
The city has put aside $22 million out of the 2017/18 capital budget to construct the new facility and is proposing to use the community benefit fund that comes from development.
User groups like the Burnaby Minor Hockey Association have said there is growing demand for ice time and they are maxed out in terms of accommodating the number of players and offering reasonable ice times to entice new members.
