YORKTON — Progress continues on the renovations to Yorkton's Kinsmen Rink after a couple of setbacks, according to Taylor Morrison, the director of recreation and community services for the City of Yorkton.
In an interview with Yorkton This Week and SaskToday, Morrison said the demolition work has been completed and the rebuilding is underway.
"We're just getting to the next stage here of some finishing touches before we can start pouring the actual concrete slab for the arena floor, hopefully in the next week or two," said Morrison.
The project started with the removal of the existing rink system, including boards, glass, player benches, spectator seating and the concrete arena floor. Those components will be upgraded.
According to Yorkton's Shape your City website, ground soils will also be removed and replaced, forming what it says will be a strong, solid base for the new arena slab floor. Dehumidification will be installed, and the code and ice plant will be upgraded.
Morrison said the project was delayed by three or four weeks. Ground water was an issue during the excavation process.
"We had water coming in at about three feet down when we were digging out all that base," he said. "We had to do some dewatering, some pumping, drying out those materials … that delayed by the project by about 12 days to take care of the water."
Unknown to the project team, the consultants, the general contractor and others, Morrison said there were rebar cross ties that ran from the support columns underneath the arena slab.
"We didn't know they were there until we started cutting that and demolishing that slab out. Getting those cut and then reinstalled afterwards, that added about another 11 days to it," said Morrison.
Despite the delays, the project is on budget, he said. The projected cost was $4.5 million, and the contract price is $3.9 million, with smaller expenses during the project.
Barring unforeseen issues, Morrison said the city is hoping substantial completion can be achieved Sept. 28. The city would then start making ice and skating in the renovated rink could start in early October. Morrison said the city is fairly confident there won't be any more major delays.
"Obviously, pouring the concrete now for the slab will be the biggest critical component," said Morrison.
Pouring the concrete should happen within the next two weeks, and it will likely be cured for about 28 days.
"There may be some adjustments with that, depending on how quickly things cure and then harden and then everything else."
Once the slab has cured, Morrison said the rink boards can be added, and arena glass and netting can be installed.
The project was needed because Morrison said the ice systems at the arena were nearing the end of their life expectancy. The arena was built in the 1970s, and cracking and heaving were noticed in the slab, which caused issues when making ice.
"The Kinsmen [Arena] did not have a dehumidification system previously, so when you're making ice in the hotter … August [days] and getting into September [days], it was very wet in the Kinsmen [Arena], so we're looking forward to getting that dehumidification system in there, which will help out as well."
Minor hockey is the primary user of the venue, he said. Some recreation hockey teams also have ice time at the facility, but the adult teams typically don't start until after Thanksgiving.
"Minor hockey has been really great to work with. Obviously, they want to see getting in there as quickly as we can, but they also have the understanding that it's an aged facility, so the improvements needed to be made for us to keep skating there," said Morrison.
Everyone is excited to get the arena open again, he said.
Updates on the project can be found on the Shape your City website.
