BVHA’s indoor rink complete; test run this weekend
Tom A. Savage/BV Journal
The zone markings (above) on the ice in the new Brandon Valley Hockey Association indoor arena at Aspen Park were placed last week. The view (at left) of the new Brandon Valley Hockey Association’s indoor arena at Aspen Park from Highway 11. The BVHS will unveil the new rink this weekend when the host a Puck N Pond tournament Saturday and Sunday. The public is encouraged to come and check out the new rink and to watch some local youth hockey in action. The indoor arena has been years in the making. Fundraising for the facility began in 2018 and continues still today.
The Brandon Valley Hockey Association’s dream of building an indoor facility is nearly realized.
The new facility on the southern edge of Aspen Park will host the Association’s first official event this weekend with a Puck N Pond tournament Saturday and Sunday.
“It will be a good opportunity for people to come down and check it out,” said Association President Tom Gruenig. “We’re ready to have an event.”
Gruenig called this weekend’s tournament a ‘soft opening’ as the Association is still calculating operating costs.
Some of the final touches on the facility came just last week as ice was put in place with the appropriate hockey zone markings painted on the ice. The grandstands on the northeast side of the arena are also in place. The final inspection was completed on Friday.
Although the finish line is in sight, there’s still work to be done, said Gruenig, who’s served as the Association’s President for the last three years.
“It is, but it’s also another chapter,” he said when asked if he felt a sense of relief now that the facility is operational. “We still have to get some financing figured out.”
Gil Haugan Construction built the facility, and somewhat financed it to this point. Gruenig said the Association still owes Haugan for the work, which he estimated to be between $300,000-$500,000.
“We’re not quite sure yet because we don’t have the final numbers back,” Gruenig said. “But it will be right in that range. We have an obligation to get them paid. He’s basically helping us out, letting us get in there before we’re paid up all the way.”
Gruenig said the Association is working with several banks in the area for additional financing, and they’re in talks with two companies about naming rights on the building. The naming rights partner will have signage on both sides of the building, facing Highway 11 and the interior side facing the park.
The hope is to keep the ice up in the facility year-round to help cover costs.
“That’s the plan. We’ll try and keep it in if we have events and can schedule times for people wanting to rent,” Gruenig said. “We’ll try and generate some revenue that way.”
Gruenig’s three-year run as president ends in April. The Association has navigated several twists and turns over the years to complete the project.
Fundraising for an indoor facility began in 2018. The flooding of Split Rock Creek in September of 2019 that destroyed the Association’s outdoor facility at McHardy Park really ramped up talks, only seeing them sputter over recent years.
Under Gruenig’s leadership, the facility is now complete.
“But it’s not one individual,” he said. “It takes a village.”
The Brandon Valley Ice Cats varsity team is scheduled to participate in this weekend’s state tournament in Watertown. The first chance they’ll get to compete at the new indoor facility in Aspen Park will be next season, scheduled to begin in October.
