After years of fundraising, and overcoming a massive cost increase, a pair of north Calgary communities got to celebrate the opening of a new outdoor rink.

The Sandstone MacEwan Community Association (SMCA) cut the ribbon on a near-million-dollar rink rehabilitation on Sunday, the culmination of years of community effort. The original rink was built in 1991, and a site review in 2018 revealed the need for a total rebuild. In 2020, the journey began

When they originally set out to rebuild the rink, they’d raised $450,000 but were still $300,000 short of their $750,000 goal. That forced them, in 2023, to delay construction on the project for a third time, so they could continue fundraising.

Like so many others, the project was hit with considerable inflation after COVID-19. The cost had jumped to roughly $1 million. Last year, the City of Calgary provided a $300,000 community infrastructure grant that left the community organization roughly $100,000 short.

That delta was eventually covered, with construction on the new rink ongoing through the summer of 2024.

“It means the culmination of years and years of hard work keeping this thing stuck together with foam and duct tape and having a safe place for kids and families to come,” said Jennifer Schroeder, co-chair of the SMCA rink rebuild committee.

Schroeder said the new recreation amenity, which is designed to be all-season – a rink in the winter and ball hockey and basketball in the warmer months – is the community gathering spot. The SMCA is without its own standalone community association building.

“This is our community center and our pleasure rink,” she said.

SMCA president Sue Coatham said her kid grew up at the old rink, and to see this one finally come to fruition was rewarding.

“This is, it’s everything to us. It keeps us together. It’s a joining place. This place is packed all the time,” she said.

Important recreation amenities for north Calgary communities: Coun. Mian

Former NHL scout and area resident Colin Alexander was one of the community members who stepped up to support the SMCA fundraising efforts. He said it was a worthwhile effort given how big a part of the community the rink was.

“When I was a child, I grew up on rinks like this, and you forget when you’re young, you don’t think of all the people that made that happen,” he said.  

“It’s almost giving back to the people that helped me when I was young.”

Alexander said he’s seen elite athletes throughout his career, but that wasn’t what this is about.

“This is about the passion of just getting on the ice with family and friends. That’s what communities are all about.”

Ward 3 Coun. Jasmine Mian told the crowd gathered at the rink opening Sunday that her husband grew up playing at this rink and where her 16-month-old son would also soon lace up his skates.

“I’m just so appreciative to the volunteers who made it happen, because we’ve enjoyed 30 years on this rink, and now we’re going to get another 30 years, and it’s hard to put a price tag on that,” Mian said.

“These things are expensive. They cost about a million dollars, but all of the memories, all of the connections that’ll happen here are priceless.”

Coun. Mian said ensuring these facilities were available now and in the future was important.

“We’ve seen, especially in the suburbs, more and more people move in, they drive their car into their garage, the garage door goes down, and there just isn’t that same community connection,” she said.

“If you don’t have these third places, these meeting spaces like this, I think it’s really hard to create that sense of community.”

The City of Calgary – Council Community Fund, the Government of Alberta Community Facility Enhancement Program, the Calgary Flames Rink Award – Parks Foundation Calgary, Daryl K. Seaman Canadian Hockey Fund at the Calgary Foundation, and the Calgary Northwest United Soccer Club were among the largest donors. 

For more information visit the SMCA rink rebuild website.