The celebration at the Blackie Arena last week had the close-knit feeling of an old-community barn raising. The feeling was only fitting because families within the community have worked together on the arena since it was built in 1977.
The community celebrated the $1.4 million renovations to the Blackie Arena with a grand opening on Thursday, March 24.
“I used to sneak into this arena through the hole where they used to shovel the snow out,” said 47-year-old Glenn Groeneveld. “We played outdoors for years and we had to go to High River for our games. When we got this rink, we were finally able to play more games here.”
Glenn’s father Flores was on the Blackie Agricultural Society in 1975 when plans were started to build the arena.
Thirty-three years later, Glenn followed in his dad’s footsteps by sitting on the ag society board and helping to raise funds for the remodernization.
“My dad helped build it and now it’s my turn to help,” Glenn said. “Basically, we want to keep the arena usable and keep it fresh and new for the kids coming up.”
The new renovations include new, larger dressing rooms, an improved kitchen space as well as open foyer.
A glance at the donor’s board hanging at the arena indicated just how many Blackie families participated in the fundraising effort. The donor board could have been used as a phone book.
Jim Sewell’s children are grown now, but he still wanted to make sure his family made a donation to the arena’s improvements.
“This arena is part of my legacy,” Sewell said with a laugh. “I worked with the MD when this was built and myself and Dan Ellice came in with a dozer and cleared things out… This place is the centre of activity for this community.”
The Sewells are more than familiar with the arena.
“I think we spent the first 18 years of my children’s life in here,” said Jim’s wife, Joanne. “We spent hundreds of hours here.”
Brian Erickson is the teacher for the Blackie School’s Project Ice and he can see even more enthusiasm on the faces of the students in the program as they change in the new dressing rooms.
“All my guys can now dress in one room, which is great for off-ice instruction and getting them ready for the ice,” Erickson said. “The guys come in, the dressing rooms are warm and we are ready to go.”
He gives the ag society credit for having the foresight to build and remodernize the arena as well as contributing to the school’s Project Ice program which is in its fourth year.
Fourteen-year-old Scott Brown said he is glad to be putting his Blackie Bantam Tigers’ sweater on in a new dressing room.
“The old dressing rooms were pretty small,” Brown said. “They were pretty annoying because when we had such a big team a couple of years ago, it was hard to get everybody in there. I like these new ones a lot more because we all fit.”
Brown said he is impressed with all the names he sees and recognizes on the donor board.
“I think it’s kind of cool because we are a small community and everyone wants to help out,” Brown said.
The funds for the $1.4 million renovation were raised by the community as well as grants from the MD of Foothills and the provincial and federal governments.
