The debate over the replacement of the 34-year-old Northfield Ice Arena highlights the challenges faced by small communities in renovating or replacing existing ice arenas. The $21 million project cost, which includes contributions from the City of Northfield Minnesota, neighboring Dundas, the school district, and the hockey association, has raised concerns about tax increases and the impact on other projects. Despite the financial burden, the city council approved the project due to the substandard conditions of the existing arena and the need for a legally compliant and functional facility.
On a Tuesday night in June, the Northfield, Minnesota City Council passed a resolution by a 6-1 margin. This resolution means that a $21 million project to replace Northfield Ice Arena can begin.
The debate before the vote shows the challenges faced by smaller cities and towns that are lucky enough to already have an indoor ice arena when it’s time to renovate or replace their building.
Why Would a Small Minnesota City Replace a 34-Year-Old Arena and Not Renovate?
The existing Northfield Ice Arena was built in 1980. Rich Larson of KYMN Radio reported:
Councilor Davin Sokup put it succinctly when he said, “Nobody thinks we don’t need a new ice arena.”
The current building, built in 1980, is substandard by almost every notable metric. It is not ADA compliant because there are no accessible entrances, nor are there handrails on the stairways.
It does not meet the standards of the Minnesota State High School League, because there are no shower facilities in the locker rooms.
There are holes in the ceiling. The building needs a new roof, and the ice making equipment will soon have to be replaced because it uses chemicals that were banned in 1990.
The article says nothing about the quality of the ice, the integrity of the boards and glass, lighting, or the condition of the players benches and penalty boxes.
However, RinkAtlas did find out through a little research that 750 people can watch a game in that building.
The reason that green lighting a replacement was so difficult is that Northfield is a city of 20,000– not 50,000 or 100,000. The article says, “… according to Councilor Sokup, {approval of this project} could mean a 15% increase to the tax levy in 2025, and possibly a 17% increase in 2026.”
How Can Northfield Afford It?
The Northfield City Council did was other cash-strapped small governments do when they need to do something that would otherwise break the bank. They created a four-way partnership including their city, the City of Dundas (population 1,700), the Northfield Public School district, and the Northfield Hockey Association.
To give some sense of the cost impact on the community, if the new arena actually costs $21 million, and the total number of people in Northfield and Dundas is 21,700, that works out to a cost of $967.75 for each man, woman, and child in those two cities!
Compare the cost impact of the Northfield Ice Arena project to that of the East Brunswick Hockey Arena being built in New Jersey. The capital cost of that arena is estimated at $29.5 million, but that’s spread over a 50,000 township population. $29.5 million / 50,000 citizens = $590 per person.
As you can imagine, the financial impact on Northfield taxpayers gave most of the Councilors pause.
Councilor Kathleen Holmes said she would vote in favor, but she is nervous about how this will affect the school district’s referendum to renovate the high school. Councilor Jessica Peterson White noted the increase on commercial property taxes. Councilor Jami Reister said she would support the project despite the fact that it could make things harder for some families.
The City Engineer offered some ideas to reschedule other capital projects to help make the New Northfield Ice Arena project more doable under the city’s financial constraints.
Replacing a Substandard Arena
In New Arena Construction Costs and the Maintenance Cliff, RinkAtlas argued that the cost of new community arena construction can be $15 million per ice sheet. Renovation projects often run $10 to $15 million if there is a maintenance cliff involved.
What we didn’t talk about is how expensive replacing a substandard arena is. A substandard rink that is as deficient as Northfield Ice Arena cannot simply be modernized. Even if the means are found to deal with any show-stopper-level problems, money would be put into a facility that is no-longer considered accessible to the people with physical challenges.
The Bigger Picture
There are plenty of substandard community arenas still in use in this country and Canada. We’ve recently been to Bucks County Ice Sports Center outside of Philadelphia, Ocean Ice Palace down at the Jersey Shore, and Bolton Ice Palace near Hartford, Connecticut. All of these arenas need replacement soon. Renovations to part or all of these existing facilities are unlikely to pencil.
Ironically the three mentioned above are privately-owned arenas, while Northfield Ice Arena is not.
What these arenas have in common is that the surrounding hockey communities depend on access to these ice sheets.
A solution needs to be found to replace the ice they represent. The question is, at what cost?