holy yikes, the new rink is *****gorgeous*****!

[threenorns]

the old dysart arena (haliburton ontario) was found last year to have burst pipes under the ice and was leaking salt water into the ground and contaminating it.  just to make things more fun, there was mold everywhere.

so for about a million dollars, they completely gutted the building and did a rekit.  today was the grand opening.  i was kinda shocked that the ice wasn't *packed* - in fact, at times saari was the only one toodling around.

the new ice rink is *way* bigger than the old one - they removed the bleachers from one side of the arena and left just the penalty boxes.  the new bleachers on the other side are higher - even little kids can see the action from the bottom bench now.  the rink is so big i didn't even video her with my phone - there was no point:  even on maximum zoom, she was just a little black blit off in the distance.

the floor is no longer covered with black matting - it's skate-friendly tiles.

there's a shower - an actual shower with three showerheads (two fixed, one hand-held and height-adjustable) - in the #1 dressing room.  didn't see the other 5 (used to be 4 in all, not 6).  the #1 dressing room is fully wheelchair accessible and the shower is too, complete with folding seat installed on the wall. 

the spectator benches in the lobby are lovely - beautifully finished, smooth wood, no more slivers. 

the window is double-layered hockey glass (about 6" apart) now and soundproof (in minden, my cell phone clearly picked up saari's end of a conversation we had through the single sheet of hockey glass).

the ice comes out the end of the month, though - i thought that was a bit doofus (i mean, why put it in in the first place then) but it turns out these two weeks are a test run.  at the end of the month is a big hockey tournament, then comes ball hockey season, and the ice goes back in in july right through to next year.

definitely there's a little kid hockey club - called "tykes and squirts" - but still nobody seems to know if the figure skating club will come back.

[SynchKat]

Nice.  New rinks are the best.

[sampaguita]

Skate-friendly tiles? What do those look like? I've only seen black matting in rinks!

[threenorns]

it looks like a normal floor - light grey and black tiles about 24"x24", much like the old asbestos industrial tiles, but they're matte finished and spongey, not super-shiny, hard and brittle.  skates don't leave a mark on them.

i can't find them online.  i keep getting the ones with the bumps on them.  when i go next, i'll snap a shot.  it's *everywhere*, wall to wall, lobby, bathrooms, dressing rooms, skating rink entryway, etc.  before, they had cement with black matting in key areas so skate guards were a dire necessity bec too often you think you're good only to find the matting was worn through and you hear the "skkkkrtch!!!" sound of another visit to the blade grinder.