Gleichen raised $375K for the arena
Shannon Leclair – Times Reporter
Gleichen arena is finally getting the face lift it desperately needed. It had previously been one of the few left in Alberta which still had a sand floor.
Through auctions, fundraising, donations and grant applications the agricultural society and minor hockey association raised the $375,000 needed for concrete floors and new arena boards. “It’s been 40 years coming. We had one of the last sand floor arenas, I think, in Alberta,” said Gordon Stewart, president of the Gleichen Agricultural Society.
Having a sand floor arena meant the arena was not previously available year round, limiting some events which could have used the space. “The sand allows us only to use the rink from November until March,” said Doris Lindman, vice-president of the society.
“Now we can hold concerts, the kids can rollerblade, it will be a multi-purpose 12 month arena,” said Lindman. “We are hoping that we might get inline hockey going in the summer months for the kids, you can’t inline on a sand floor,” said Cara Sheppard, president of the minor hockey association.
Another problem posed by a sand floor was that frost and heat would cause the sand/clay mixture to expand at different rates, causing the ice surface to become uneven. “People would complain about the quality,” said Lindman.
“What we did is, minor hockey raised the first batch of money and then we started holding the community fundraising auctions,” said Lindman.
The minor hockey association raised $100,000 towards the arena. The money the hockey association raised came from registration, ice rentals, tournaments and responsible spending.
The provincial Community Facility Enhancement Program, CFEP, gave the agricultural society a grant for $125, 000, Encana donated 75,000, another 20,000 came from the Gleichen Lions, and through the Gleichen agricultural society annual auction $55,000 was raised.
“It’s a community effort and we have been plugging along with it for a long time, it’s nice to finally reach there,” said Stewart.
Construction has already started on the arena and is said to finish up at the beginning of July. During the spring break five Gleichen youth volunteered their time to help with the demolition by pulling off arena boards. The arena will be ready for the new season which begins in October.