So this is Hockeyville
Board of directors taking deliberate approach in planning arena’s upgrades
Except for some signage, there is little physical evidence that the O’Leary Community Sports Centre is the winning community from the 2017 Kraft Hockeyville national competition. The cash prize that accompanies the Hockeyville Cup title remains unspent. “We could’ve taken the $100,000, paved the parking lot, patched the roof and been done with it,” acknowledges Wade Sweet, president of the arena’s board of directors. But, he added, the board and the arena’s renovation committee have bigger plans for the facility. “We really want to leverage this money as much as we can to leave a lasting legacy for the community,” he explained. Dean Getson, who was a member of the committee that launched the community’s winning Hockeyville campaign a year and a half ago, is chairing the renovations committee. “Other winning communities, the norm was three, four years after before they spent their money,” he pointed out. Getson said he’s fine with leaving it until next summer, or even the summer of 2020, to make the planned changes. He wants to make sure it’s done right and the arena is able to tap into federal and provincial programs to help make it happen. It will be in the lobby area that facility users will notice major change. The entrance will be opened up, the washrooms dramatically expanded, and the canteen reconfigured to include seating and a glassed-in wall to provide heated viewing of the ice surface. Chris Hepworth will be there to help guide the facility forward The sports centre recently hired Hepworth as its new manager. The board of directors is hoping to rely on his experience managing large venues in Ontario to not only help plan the renovations, but to turn the facility into a four-season operation. The arena is a busy place during hockey and figure skating season but, from April until October, little activity happens there.
“We want him to bring in new events, new ideas,” said sports centre board member Stacy Rix. “We want things to change for the better, and I think he brings that.” Hepworth said he is excited to take on the challenge. “For me, it’s the community, seeing how the community came together to vote for their small rink for Hockeyville is amazing.” Although he voted for O’Leary in the Hockeyville campaign at his in-laws’ request, Hepworth admits he knew little else about the community prior to moving from Ontario in June. Hepworth said he supports the board’s position of taking its time to do it right. “If we can breathe some new life into our facility and update it and bring it into the 21st century, that would be amazing.” “We want Hockeyville to be real legacy for the community,” Sweet said. “What we want to do is make the O’Leary rink a more user-friendly, accessible facility for everybody in the community.” Including merchandising and other special events associated with the Hockeyville celebrations last year, the renovations fund has grown to approximately $130,000, still a far cry from the $400,000 the planned renovations are expected to cost.