The effort to refrigerate the Outdoor Ice Oval and convert it into a year-round recreation facility is moving forward.
At a city council meeting in early May, city staff recommended the submission of a grant application to help fund the project, which carries an estimated cost of $3.7 million. Council unanimously approved the recommendation, which seeks to secure capital through the Federal Gas Tax Strategic Priorities Fund, the same one the city accessed in 2015 to get $3.2 million for upgrades to Masich Place Stadium.
The Outdoor Ice Oval is among three local projects in line for support from the gas tax fund, which is administered by the Union of B.C. Municipalities. It is second on the list of priorities, behind the Bob Harkins Public Library entrance upgrade and rehabilitation project and ahead of the City of Prince George's transportation network plan.
The ice oval refrigeration project is listed in the city's 2017-2021 capital plan but is currently unfunded.
The entire $3.7 million would not come from the gas tax fund. As part of an agreement with the city, the Outdoor Ice Oval Society of Prince George is out to raise $500,000 to help cover the cost.
"Our goal is to go around to businesses and anybody to raise half a million dollars to show that the oval group is committed to this project," said society vice-president and spokesperson Angus McDonald.
"We're just getting going now. I'm having very good conversations with a lot of people and businesses. I'm tackling the bigger groups and we have a group of roughly a dozen people that are pushing this out to the community."
Donations made to the Outdoor Ice Oval Society are tax refundable. If for any reason the project doesn't proceed, money raised will be used for improvements to the oval infrastructure and operations.
Cheques can be made out to the City of Prince George (for tax receipt purposes) and dropped off at, or mailed to, city hall. Donations can also be made through McDonald (250-563-9654) or society president Kathy Lewis (250-961-8501).
The oval is 400 metres in length and is located behind CN Centre in Exhibition Park. Recent improvements include a heated change facility known as Canfor House and an equipment building courtesy of the Prince George Construction Association.
The problem is this: for several years now, the volunteer-run facility has been plagued by mid-winter thaws. One such meltdown happened during the 2015 Canada Winter Games and forced the long track speed skating competition to be moved to the Pomeroy Sport Centre indoor ice oval in Fort St. John.
Overall, 2015 was the shortest skating season on record at the oval. In a 2016 report to city council, Lewis said the oval was open for just 55 days. At the same time, however, it was at the height of popularity in terms of usage.
"Despite the weather challenges, we had more skaters per day we were open than ever before, as a result of new facilities, good skating weather, excellent ice and a learn-to-skate program combined with skate rentals," Lewis wrote. "We hosted school groups, serious speed skaters, recreational skaters and birthday parties."
A refrigerated oval in Prince George would allow four to five months of uninterrupted skating for the general public and the Prince George Blizzard Speed Skating Club. It would also make Prince George a prime location for training, as well as for provincial and national meets. International events would be more likely to land in Fort St. John or Calgary, which has the Calgary Olympic Oval.
Prince George's ice oval project would also see a concrete surface installed, which would open the facility to year-round use for activities such as inline skating, roller-skiing and learn-to-ride programs.
Around 2007, a different group led by Anne Pousette and Harry Gairns was working toward getting the ice oval refrigerated. McDonald said the group had a hockey rink as part of its plan and didn't have a clear concept of how best to chill the ice surfaces. A report by Mark Messer of the Calgary Olympic Oval suggested a reservoir-based refrigeration system that would rely on the adjacent Kin Centre for power. With that concept, cool brine (a saline solution) would have been produced at night and stored in a 20,000-gallon outdoor reservoir for daytime use in a refrigeration plant. Two independent consultants hired by Pousette estimated the cost of such a project at between $11 million and $13 million, McDonald said.
In September of 2010, Prince George was awarded the 2015 Canada Winter Games. As the Games drew closer, the figure for a refrigerated oval was trimmed to $7 million but was still too high.
"They asked for too much money," said McDonald, an engineer by trade. "That's really when I got into this thing - 'OK, what is the real number for refrigeration?' I spent all my own time talking to consultants and contractors and refrigeration companies, trying to figure out, what are the basics for this plan? So I came up with a value of just under $4 million, in talking to many people."
McDonald then happened to meet Mayor Lyn Hall at a barbecue, held at the oval, after the Games.
"He was very interested, so we developed a dialogue and, in September (2016) I presented him with what I thought the budget for refrigeration was, and (the city) moved forward with that. (There have been) several meetings and it's been very good ever since then."
From McDonald's perspective, a key part of the current plan is that the refrigeration system for the ice oval keeps to the standards already in place for the city's other rinks, which means an ammonia-based system that can be maintained by the city.
A breakdown of the $3.7 million cost is as follows:
Tubing and refrigeration - $1,310,000
Oval surface (concrete and piping) - $800,000
Concrete forming etc. - $490,000
Concrete - $184,000
Drainage - $96,000
Refrigeration building and electrical - $500,000
McDonald praised the previous group for all the work it accomplished, as well as its efforts to refrigerate the oval.
"That group did an awesome thing - they got the site dedicated for the oval (which had existed in two previous locations in Exhibition Park) and got the berm done in the place suitable for the Canada Winter Games," he said. "That was a big step. New people come in with new ideas and you take it forward."
The current ice oval refrigeration effort has the written support of groups like B.C. Speed Skating, the Fort St. James Falcons Speed Skating Club, Nechako Lake Speed Skating Club, Williams Lake Speed Skating Association, the Prince George Iceman Society and the Prince George Track and Field Club.
After Halifax hosted the 2011 Canada Winter Games, its temporary outdoor ice oval was converted into a permanent facility, complete with refrigeration. According to a report in The Globe and Mail, Halifax regional councilors voted to spend $5.7 million on the project.
Depending on wind and sun exposure, the ice in Halifax can be maintained in temperatures as warm as 10 C. The ice surface itself is 55,000 square feet, equivalent to three hockey rinks.
In the warmer months, the oval is open for activities such as inline skating, skateboarding and cycling. The annual operating cost has been estimated at $400,000.
