Members of Dryden’s DREAM Committee are continuing to donate and upgrade the Dryden Memorial Arena for the community.
The City of Dryden is thanking DREAM members for their $60,000 donation towards the arena’s glass retrofit project, paying for about 80 per cent of the costs. Thanks to the donation, the city was able to replace every support post and install 6-foot glass segments all the way around the ice surface.
The donation was made earlier this month by DREAM members and city staff at the arena.
Dryden’s DREAM committee has been fundraising to upgrade the arena since 2016, hitting a $500,000 milestone in 2019 after a $200,000 donation from the Kurz family. Residents are able to donate to DREAM by making a donation to the City of Dryden, which is eligible for a charity tax receipt.
This all comes as the arena is undergoing some major expansion and renovation work this winter. The $5 million project, with support from the federal and provincial governments, includes a new community hall above an ice surface, which is expected to open by the summer of 2023.
The work also includes four new accessible change rooms, an elevator, new washrooms and a replacement of a variety of aging mechanical systems – one of which is expected to save the city about $190,000 in annual energy costs.
The arena was originally built in 1978 and hosts over 25 tournaments and special events each year.