Prince George has a new indoor ice rink.
Sweeping changes have been ongoing at the Prince George Golf and Curing Club the past month to convert half of the club’s curling space into a 125-foot long, 55-foot wide rink to be used for hockey, ringette and figure skating.
Mike Peterson has been a curler for 35 of his 45 years and has seen curling participation decline at the Prince George Golf and Curling Club. As the father of four kids, two of whom now play minor hockey, he recognized there was a need for more indoor ice beyond what the city can provide with its seven civic arenas. He saw the potential for a private rink two years ago when his young son Tavin’s hockey team played in a spring tournament at the Total Ice Training Centre facility in Williams Lake.
“One of my favourite memories as a kid when I was in my early teens was curling with my dad (Bruce) and wearing the matching wool sweaters and I thought if I don’t do something, if we can’t find a way to get the curling numbers up to what they should be for a community this size, we’re going to lose the rink,” said Peterson.
“I am confident we’ll see curling numbers rise as a result of this because we’re just bringing in that many more people into the building, exposing people to it.”
Club membership during the pandemic has dropped to about 300 curlers, down from last year’s 400, and the 100-year-old club has continued to look at alternatives to keep it a viable operation. After much debate, the board of directors agreed it was in the club’s best interests to allow Peterson and his business partner Chris Hunter and their company, Northern ICE Sports Ltd., to utilize the building’s ice plant and reduce the curling capacity from eight sheets to four to create space for the rink.
“Before we made the decision we looked at the number of curlers we’ve had in the previous 10 or 15 years to make sure we could accommodate all the leagues we had with the appropriate time using just four sheets,” said PGGCC president Dan Martin.
“Our biggest hindrance after COVID goes away is how we will deal with bonspiels and that will be our biggest challenge moving forward. (The Kelly Cup) had 29 teams last year and we can more than accommodate 29 teams using the same amount of hours as they did in 2019. We’ve had some fallout from the curlers… but if people are willing to curl a little later in the evening and start earlier in the day, we can actually make it work.”
The PGGCC already houses OVERhang, a private club that operates an indoor climbing facility, and the Prince George Tennis and Pickleball Club is on land adjacent to the building. Martin says the five-year lease agreement with Northern ICE aligns with the board’s desire to make the club a multi-use, year-round facility.
“It’s not like the golf course is flush with money, we’ve had to try to figure different ways to keep the doors open and make things work,” said Martin, who acknowledged it’s not the first time a group has pitched the hockey rink idea to the board. “It’s been underutilized for so many years. The concept is not taking away from the Kin Centre (arenas) or anything like that. They’re going to hit a niche in the market and kudos for then for coming up with the idea. It will allow us to keep curling going on and maybe we can even have curling in the summer.”
Some members have expressed concerns the club will no longer be able to host provincial or national events but Peterson says most of the larger-scale events are now played on arena ice. The cost of building a similar-sized rink from scratch is close to $1.5 million, not including the land. The curling rink provided a cost-effective alternative.
“It’s the right size, and we can secure a revenue stream to the curling club which is going to keep curling going in perpetuity,” said Peterson. “We have an amazing facility that, if we truly work the partnership, the business opportunities are endless.”
The club has applied for a government grant to retrofit the ice plant to allow independent control of ice temperature between the two sides. Curling ice is kept at a higher temperature which is less than ideal for skating and that might be a limiting factor on the new rink’s usage until the system is revamped.
It’s about two-thirds the size of conventional hockey rink and Peterson says it will be ideal for 3-on-3 hockey or ringette, spring hockey leagues, high-performance training and skill development sessions.
“Our focus is on youth development in any rink sport,” said Peterson. “Once we figure out the demand on the youth side we’re also thinking of having juvenile and adult 3-on-3 leagues in the evening. With smaller ice and smaller teams, maybe we could get a women’s 3-on-3 league or a co-ed opportunity.
“The most excitement I’ve had watching my son play was on smaller ice surfaces. What it does is it doesn’t allow those kids that are really good skaters to just grab the puck and skate around everybody; there’s not enough room. So the less-skilled players have more opportunity for puck touches, which keeps them excited about the game, and the better players have to play more heads-up, so the skill development is phenomenal.”
The Prince George Cougars and Prince George Spruce Kings are also showing support for the new rink, which could provide a training facility for their younger prospects. It could also create jobs for junior team players to instruct kids in hockey schools.
The curling club already has a glassed-in viewing area with seats at one end below the restaurant/lounge which will allow parents to watch their kids play, an option currently not available to them in city arenas due to COVID restrictions.
The city is already lacking in indoor-ice capacity with the Elksentre still closed during the pandemic to save money. Peterson has yet to finalize what it will cost to rent the ice but said hourly rates for a similar facility in Calgary range from $200 (prime time) to $50 (off-peak hours).
“We’re not in this to get rich, the intent is adding another amazing facility to the town,” he said.
Northern ICE bought a used Zamboni in Calgary which has a tight turning radius built for small rinks. Half of the area behind one end of the rink, used to store the machine and other maintenance equipment, will be flooded and designated for goaltender training, with room to skate behind the net. During the warm-weather months, when the curling ice has been removed, that space will be available to user groups for dryland training. Peterson plans to meet with OVERhang as well as the golf and tennis clubs to create multi-sport summer camps for kids or ProD day events to utilize the facilities.
Construction began on Oct. 14 and within four days a two-ply wall to divide the curling rink was finished. Rink boards have been built and netting will be installed at the ends to catch wayward pucks. Washrooms and dressing rooms are located in the basement area, with plans to eventually connect to the club’s existing shower facilities. Separate entrances will be utilized on the side of the building which faces the golf course.
Peterson, an evironmental biologist, and Hunter, a pharmacist co-owner, have already spent close to $200,000 on the project. They’ve received an outpouring of support from local businesses, including Bragg Construction, The CAT Rental Store, Westcana Electric, All Pro Plumbing & Heating, Admiral Roofing and Wall Systems, Northern Concrete Cutting Ltd., and Conifex Timber, which have donated labour and equipment to the project. Operating costs will be partially offset through advertising on rink boards, walls and on the ice surface.
Flooding of the rink started on Thursday and the ice will be painted white on Monday, with lines to be painted on Tuesday. It should be open for the first family skate on Thursday.
