New refrigerated rink could possibly remain open to skating for five months a year, from November till March.
Dorval could soon begin construction on a new outdoor refrigerated rink.
The city is considering plans to build the rink next to Edgar Rouleau Arena (formerly called Dorval Arena) on Dawson Ave. What makes this potential rink unique is that it will be one of the only outdoor refrigerated rinks in Montreal covered by a roof.
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Dorval Mayor Marc Doret said having a roof-covered rink has many advantages, given Montreal’s climate.
“It means our rink can be used in just about any weather,” he said. “If it’s snowing or raining, you can still play hockey or another sport on it,” he said.
He said a refrigerated outdoor rink could possibly remain open for five months, from approximately November till March. It could then be converted into a multipurpose play surface the rest of the year.
Doret said the four-season recreational structure will also be equipped with locker and storage rooms. The facility will also have its own ice resurfacing machine.
The rink will cost an estimated $8 million to build, he said.
The mayor said the city decided to build its first refrigerated ice rink because fluctuating weather conditions make maintaining outdoor ice surfaces a challenge for municipal public works departments.
“The weather is so unpredictable nowadays,” he said. “None of our rinks where open over the (Christmas) holidays this year because it was too mild.”
He said refrigerated rinks are likely the future for Canadian cities struggling to maintain outdoor ice surfaces during a time of global climate change.
Leading the way locally are the Montreal Canadiens who’ve built more than a dozen refrigerated ice rinks across the province since 2009 as part of its BLEU BLANC BOUGE program. Those uncovered rinks cost about $1.7 million each, according to the Canadiens website. Six of the 13 Habs’ rinks are located in Montreal, but none in the West Island.
In 2021, Pointe-Claire opened a refrigerated rink at Valois Park and a small skating oval in the Pointe-Claire Village.
Doret said the new rink will be built according to standard National Hockey League dimensions of 200 feet in length and 85 feet in width.
He said many other activities, such as ball hockey, figure skating and ringette, can also be played there.
He said the “eco-friendly” structure will be fitted with solar panels.
“Ecological approach, sustainable development, and universal accessibility will be the guiding concepts of this project, which will promote the use of wood for the structure elements,” the city stated in a release.
The rink will be open on three sides, with a wall at one end. Doret said the single wall will help to minimize the amount of noise generated from rink activities into surrounding neighbourhoods.
If approved by council in the coming months, the mayor said the new refrigerated rink could be completed by next fall.
jmeagher@postmedia.com
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