New Rink, Hockey History Exhibit bringing hockey to Smithers in July
Mayor Taylor Bachrach, chief contractor Rob Trumpah, and Chair of the 2nd Sheet committee Al McCreary officially broke ground on the second sheet of ice slated for Smithers. This project has been a long time coming said Chair, Al McCreary. He had been working on this idea for more than 20 years. The Mayor thanked many of the larger sponsors who made this possible including Smithers Minor Hockey who donated $50,000, Pacific Inland Resources who donated $100,000, and Francisco Aquilini, Owner of the Vancouver Canucks, who donated $250,000 to the project. The Province of British Columbia made the largest committment by pledging $2,350,000 to the project.
It will be located right next to the current facilty in Heritage Park. With this second sheet, Smithers will be able to draw more people to our town by hosting larger tournaments, larger events, and now having a complete sports compound for which many activities can take place.
Construction is due to be complete by September 2014.
And for those who want to know where we came from, the Smithers Civic Centre is hosting a "Hockey in the Bulkley Valley" exhibit.
Smithers Centennial Hockey Museum from July 8th - 22nd
at the Smithers Civic Centre
Mon - Fri - from 3 pm - 8 pm
Saturday from 11 am - 5 pm.
The museum features items from the Trophy Room in the rink, donated hockey items, and 5,000 written articles about hockey in Smithers. There are photos showing the current rink being built over 50 years ago. Admission is by donation and is very much worth a look.
Special thanks to Tracey Groot for her many hours of work in preparing this for our enjoyment!
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