One of Richmond’s biggest ice arenas has been bought by the city, with promises of much-needed upgrades on the way.
Until this week, Richmond Ice Centre, at the Riverport entertainment complex, was privately owned, with the city paying hefty leasing costs.
Many of the groups using the facility often complained about the dire need to upgrade the infrastructure.
But the city was restricted in the past, due to the centre being owned by a third party.
The centre opened in 1994, with six regulation size ice rinks and is home to the likes of Richmond Jets Minor Hockey, Richmond Ringette, Richmond Ravens, Connaught Skating Club and Coast Hockey.
It also offers year round skating and lessons, as well as dry floor rink access and tournament capacity for up to 50 teams.
The city said on Wednesday that the funds previously used to lease the building will now “assist in supporting much-needed infrastructure upgrades to the facility and allow it to operate for several more decades.”
The city will work closely with the Richmond Arenas Community Association and user groups to “identify priority areas for upgrades, and opportunities to enhance the functionality of the Richmond Ice Centre.”
It will bring the number of city-owned ice sheets to ten, complementing the two at Minoru Arena and two at the Richmond Olympic Oval.
