A plan to build a second indoor ice arena was given a boost by town council this week.
On Tuesday, town council approved spending up to $10,000 on concept drawings to create a twin arena complex.
In the town’s long-range plan, a second ice surface is slotted in for 2021.
The town has said that significant local fundraising will be required to make the project a reality.
A local group, Dual Ice Development Society, has already been formed and set a fundraising goal of $1 million. Providing designs of what is planned will help with fundraising, says a report to council.
Local fundraising efforts have proved successful in the past. The Blackfalds Field House Society raised $1.7 million a few years ago for a facility that is part of Abbey Centre.
The town has already spent significant amounts on upgrading the ice plant so it can handle a second rink.
In 2008, $500,000 was spent upgrading ice-making equipment, which allowed the creation of an outdoor rink with artificial ice. Building the concrete boards and adding rink boards cost another $600,000.
The plan is to enclose that rink to create the second arena.