The idea of a third ice surface was brought up once again at last night's council meeting, one of the handful remaining before the Civic Election. This time around, another option was floated to the current council.
The Bienfait Coalfields Memorial Arena Association sent a letter to the city council suggesting that they should collaborate with the Town of Bienfait to upgrade parts of their rink instead of building a new ice surface in Estevan. Bill Mann, a board member with the association, presented their case.
"We came up with this idea over the last number of years because...with the demolishing of the Civic Auditorium left the city with only the Affinity [Place] and the Power Dodge [Arena]. We see a lot of use by the minor hockey and other recreational areas of the City of Estevan coming to Bienfait and they are primarily responsible for most -- a lot -- of our funding. A lot of our revenue comes from those streams," Mann said.
According to the letter submitted to the City, the renovations would cost about $2 million dollars. This would include an update to the building itself, new seating arrangements and adding more dressing room facilities. Mann pointed out that while the building is 'for sure...not a good state of working order; that's not the best facility', LED lighting was installed at the rink 8 years ago to enhance the fan experience. He added that their ice plant also went into disrepair back in 2023, but was replaced with money donated from businesses and the community.
Mann added that both towns and their ratepayers would benefit with the renovation of Bienfait's rink, stating that they're only about 7 minutes apart. "What we are proposing we would like to do is develop a relationship with the City of Estevan to utilize Bienfait. I can drive from Bienfait to the east side of Estevan in 7 minutes. I can't drive across [the city] at any shorter time than that, so it's not very far."
The move garnered support from the RM of Estevan, the RM of Coalfields and the Town of Bienfait.
"We believe that the benefits to Bienfait are huge. If Bienfait was not...considered for good use by the City of Estevan in the future, we believe that would be very detrimental to the success and the maintenance of the community of Bienfait. We all know that in communities, when they lose a major infrastructure like a skating rink, a school, a hospital, a grain elevator, all these things, [it] diminishes your ability to succeed as a community," Mann expressed.
Related stories:
- Estevan to decide: Will a new arena skate through?
- Mayor Ludwig comments on ice rink plebiscite and community feedback
Councillors Travis Frank and Shelly Veroba highlighted the collaboration between the two towns, emphasizing that discussions are being had before the City decides on a path forward.
"I think we need to appreciate that Bienfait people spend a lot of their economic [sic] into the town of Estevan, and that we partner in one way is that we like to have you come to our community and like to have you shop here and do those things too," echoed Councillor Lindsey Clark.
Councillor Kirsten Walliser noted that the City could help in finding different stakeholders that could make use of the rink. "[I'm] thinking of our lacrosse teams, those who play broomball -- there's a lot of user groups who don't feel like their needs are currently captured within the City of Estevan. So I would like to see the City help bring those user groups together as the conversation moves forward."
Councillor Tony Sernick, who brought forward the addition of this question to the ballot in the previous council meeting, acknowledged that this investment in the Bienfait rink could be an option down the line. "Municipalities [and] RM's are going to have to get together in the future to build infrastructure. The cities [and] towns cannot do it on their own anymore. Everything cost too much money."
Nothing is certain at this point. Councillors have voted to add a non-binding plebiscite to the ballot for this upcoming Civic Election. Sernick reiterated that its purpose is to only gauge the community's interest in whether they would support building a new ice surface in Estevan.
Election Day is slated for November 13, with advance polls starting on October 29.