Over-seating in the outdoor ice area in Ann Arbor on the south side is officially coming to an end, thanks to the donation of $500,000 by the Michigan DNR (Department of Natural Resources). The city has been planning for modifications and upgrades for the arena, but now the arena is getting closer to the dream of having accessible, sustainable, and modernized facilities.
The grant the state gave is just one of 15 projects across Michigan. The overall funding total was around $8 million which would be funding the projects that the community wanted to recreate, things like new parks, splash pads for those parks, installations for the things, and an increase in the accessibility of everything.
For Ann Arbor itself, this makes the $500,000 grant a very important marker in the process of turning the ice arena into what it needed to be for years. Ann Arbor officials started getting funds from DNR for the improvement in 2022 with the possibility of completing improvements by 2024, which will be no less than $2.4 million. It is pretty ambitious because it is supposed to talk about energy, ADA, and which are the most important facility updates.
Ann Arbor Parks Manager Josh Landefeld said, “The scope of work has remained similar with the focus being on replacing the outdated refrigeration plant, updating the dasher boards and flooring around the rink.” Landefeld also said, “Knowing that these improvements are forthcoming is why we continued to raise the grant proposal in recent cycles.”
The most important and crucial part of the project is to replace the old refrigeration system of the arena because that is the most important to keep the arena ice cold for when playing hockey, this replacement the city authorities will claim that will have less energy consumption, the cost to operate will be less, and greenhouse gas emissions.
The current system that is installed right now is old and a lot more expensive to maintain, so, it is significant to replace it in a vision of long-lasting and saving money.
Apart from the energy efficiency, it is eligible for the upgrades it needs. The city officials have been making design improvements that will make sure all the ADA requirements are met and maybe even exceeded. About new updates, they are getting new rubber flooring around the outside of the rink to make sure it is safe to walk and people won’t slip. They are also installing universal dasher boards which are the bottom part of the wall around the rink to make sure it is very durable when players hit the wall. All of these upgrades are going towards making the facility all around more welcoming and with better details.
Once it is finalized and after four to six months the project was agreed upon, the city will have about two years to renovate it. Landefeld said, “This has been something we have really worked toward for a long time, and these improvements will create a more sustainable space that families can experience for many years.” A place that is favored by the people in Ann Arbor in the winter, the skating rink has needed upgrades for many years now.
While the state donating money was a very helpful act, the city’s plan to upgrade the rink will cost around $2.4 million when the state only granted $500,000. The officials hope that the $500,000 will help with the future and pave the way for different upgrades and improvements in the future.
The people that live around the city are already very happy and excited about the project. Michelle Thompson said, “This is great news for Ann Arbor families.” The time range for when the project will be complete depends on the project agreement and moving forward to the actual construction for everything. The officials hope that everyone will be able to see the visual progress of the rink within the coming year.
Also, the community believes that upgrading the rink will obviously bring more people, but hopefully, it will keep bringing those same people back which will really give the hockey and ice skating community a boost. As of now, the ice rink is just on the edge of transformation and hopeful to become more modern and accessible. This step from the DNR and giving the money really gives Ann Arbor a step forward with its investments going back into the city and community.
