Speaking of thinking (not too) big. From the Saturday SP:
New rink on campus great investment idea for provincial gov't
P.J. Kennedy, The StarPhoenix
Published: Saturday, June 07, 2008
In 1928, University of Saskatchewan's student newspaper The Sheaf reported plans to construct an indoor, on-campus "ice-drome" which was completed in 1929. Today, 80 years later, Rutherford Rink is as anachronistic as the label "ice-drome."
This decrepit building is totally inadequate to meet the multiple needs of a Canadian university in the 21st century.
In 2005, Hockey Canada and the Canadian Recreation Facilities Council produced a national arena census which indicated that the average life expectancy for an ice arena in Canada was 32 years. Public, private and institutional arenas were examined and the report's findings indicated that 32 per cent were built before 1970, 13 per cent before 1960 and only a miniscule five per cent were constructed prior to 1950.
To put these findings into perspective, and to show how terribly outdated the 1929 Rutherford Rink is, it should be noted that the same report found there were more indoor rinks in Canada relying on natural ice (10 per cent) than there were arenas built before 1950.
Women's dressing room in trailer
A university rink with a top five men's hockey program and ever-improving women's hockey team should be expected to provide quality ice conditions along with off-ice support facilities and spectator amenities. Indeed, as a member of Canadian Interuniversity Sport (CIS), Huskie Athletics has an obligation to provide a venue which meets minimum expectations for competition at the CIS level.
Rutherford Rink's single ice surface is 199 feet, six inches by 84 feet, nine inches, just below the 200x85 NHL standards. Other than the ice surface, little else at the Saskatoon facility comes close to meeting any contemporary standards.
The cramped men's dressing room has hooks on the wall, limited storage capacity, one sink and a small shower room. The women's room is a construction trailer in the back parking lot. Visitors' dressing facilities are even more limited.
Stationary bicycles in the arena attic represent the training facilities. A cold, dingy coaches' room warmed by portable space heaters is crammed under the stands. Spectator amenities include one washroom for each gender, a single counter with a limited number of concession items, a view of the ice obstructed by roof support posts and heavy black netting, inadequate heat and backless seating which consists of wooden boards affixed to concrete.
The decrepit building is totally inadequate.
Beyond the dozens of student-athletes playing at the elite men's and woman's interuniversity level and the thousands of current and potential spectators on-campus and throughout the community, there are hundreds of men's and women's intramural players who are forced to play at extreme early morning and late night hours because the arena has reached its capacity.
They, too, must suffer from poor dressing facilities and showers as well as inadequate lighting and heat.
Rink could have many uses
Students studying kinesiology who require on-ice instructional sessions as well as recreational skaters from among the students and staff on campus are limited because the demand for ice time has outgrown capacity.
At a time when the provincial government has received windfall revenue from natural resources that belong to the entire province, it should take a lead role in constructing a twin-pad ice arena at Saskatchewan's oldest and largest university. Such a building should have classrooms, training facilities, offices and seating for 3,000 or more people.
Students who represent Saskatchewan in interuniversity competition, intramural and recreational students who are endeavouring to have a healthy lifestyle and kinesiology students wanting to use the rink for educational purposes come from across the province, not just one constituency.
This could be a truly provincial endeavour. A new rink with adequate seating capacity could be used for convocation, concerts and other campus and community events affecting many more people than those involved directly with CIS hockey.
With two pads, revenue could be generated by renting ice time to off-campus groups.
The days of the "ice-drome" are gone. A provincial government that wants to use its resource revenue prudently to benefit a wide variety of people from throughout the province should step forward.
With operational budgets at the university stretched to the limit, the provincial government must make the initial financial commitment for such a one-time capital expenditure. It, together with University of Saskatchewan and private donors, has the opportunity to relegate to history the embarrassment that is Rutherford Rink and its position among the bottom five per cent of arenas across the country.
Michael P. J. Kennedy, PhD, teaches for the Department of English including a class entitled Reading Culture: Hockey in Canadian Literature and is the author of Dogs on Ice: A History of Hockey at University of Saskatchewan.
© The StarPhoenix (Saskatoon) 2008
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