Trouble getting indoor ice time in Edmonton? There’s not enough of it to go around

September 14, 2024 Canuck

Shawn Melnyk and his wife, Carmen Vaugeois, sit down every Sunday to plan their week around hockey practice for their two boys.

Demand for prime-time ice hours is high, so an early 4:45 p.m. practice across town can throw a major wrench in the family’s plans.

That’s when the calls to grandma and grandpa start, or team chat messages looking for carpool solutions roll in.

“If I’m working, say off-site or out of town, it’s extremely difficult to get to. And then if one parent is at home managing a whole household by themselves, it’s extremely, extremely difficult,” Melnyk said. “It definitely requires a village in that case.”

The early kids’ practices are a symptom of a larger problem in Edmonton.

There’s a shortage of available ice sheets, and it’s compounded by the reality that many aging arenas, first flagged for replacement more than 15 years ago, are still in use.

In July, city council got a memo on the arena facilities capital development plan from Jennifer Flaman, deputy city manager in charge of community services.

Flaman’s report said the city provides 31 ice sheets in 22 facilities — one sheet for every 39,000 residents. By comparison, the City of Calgary operates 54 ice sheets within 34 facilities, or one sheet for every 23,000 residents.

Administration recommends replacing aging single arenas with twin or multi-surface arenas. Options for consideration will go into the 2027-30 capital budget submission, the memo says.

“There definitely is a shortage,” said Jeremy Haluschak, executive director of Hockey Edmonton, the governing body for minor hockey in the city.

“It’s not just hockey — it’s ringette, it’s figure skating, speed skating.… We’re not getting the supply that we’re asking for.”

Man kneeling with arm around boy in hockey gear — Shawn Melnyk has two boys in hockey, and is the president of the Hawks Athletic Club. He says a lack of available ice is the largest barrier for the club’s development. (Submitted by Shawn Melnyk)

Between 1958 and 1975 the city built 15 single arenas. The average age of those arenas is now 57 years and some are nearing the end of their useful life.

In 2009, Edmonton city council approved a strategy to close six aging single arenas and replace them with three twin-arena facilities. Today, five out of six of those aging arenas are still in operation and have not been replaced.

But as the city population has grown significantly, so has demand. The report from Flaman says the city accommodated 82.5 per cent of requested demand during the winter 2023/24 season.

In particular, the fast-growing Southwest and Ellerslie districts don’t have arena facilities. Facilities in Bonnie Doon/Dermott Park and Heritage Valley are proposed, but remain unfunded.

The fully funded Lewis Farms Recreation Centre will be the newest arena in the city. It is forecasted to open in September 2028.

Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford said it’s not just arenas that are in short supply. Demand for soccer fields, football domes and cricket pitches is growing with Edmonton’s population and outpacing what the city can supply, she said.

“I think it will be a real uphill argument to get any kind of nice-to-haves funded in the next budget cycle,” Rutherford said in an interview.

She said fire halls, police stations and an aging transit fleet will likely be of higher importance to the next council.

“These are going to take real priority over a new recreation facility, if I’m being honest about where I would stand on that right now.”

In a council meeting this week, councillors discussed a $34-million budget deficit for this year.

In addition to having two boys in minor hockey, Melnyk is the president of the Hawks Athletic Club.

He says hockey is already expensive and time-consuming for parents, and that the team tries to stick to local arenas whenever possible. But every hour of practice counts.

“If you can just get that extra hour a week with these little kids, it’s exponential for their growth and development as hockey players and little teammates,” Melnyk said.

Haluschak, of Hockey Edmonton, said other local clubs are having to travel to surrounding communities to find ice — from Gibbons to Calmar and as far as Thorsby.

He said the need to travel, and clubs turning to more expensive private facilities, pose barriers to youth sport.

“When we talk about affordability, that is just adding on to a cost for any of the participants that want to book those facilities.… We want to make it as affordable as possible.”

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