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Cloverdale Arena delayed again

Work might start in August now
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The site for the new “Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex” is seen on the north end of the Fairgrounds on July 12, 2022 (to the right of the image behind the roadway). The road has been put in, but construction on the project has not begun. Construction was supposed to begin in “spring 2022,” according to a City of Surrey corporate report. (Photo: Malin Jordan)

Construction on the new Cloverdale Arena has been delayed again.

According to the Planning & Development for the City of Surrey, construction is now expected to begin by the end of summer.

“The City is scheduled to bring forward the first construction contract award for the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex for Council’s consideration on July 25,” a spokesperson for the Planning & Development told the Cloverdale Reporter. “If approved by Council, site cleaning and grading is expected to start in August.”

A year ago, in the summer of 2021, Mayor Doug McCallum said the Cloverdale Arena project was scheduled to break ground in spring 2022. And according to a corporate report that was presented to city council Feb. 14, 2022, that timeline was still on schedule.

That document, Corporate Report R035, noted the process for the rink would start as soon as council approved an increase for expenditure authorization, which they did.

That meant shovels would be in the ground this past spring (2022) and kids would be skating on ice at the north end of the Fairgrounds by early 2024.

As of July 11, 2022, the project had not broken ground.

Corporate Report R035 noted, “The Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex will accommodate the community’s needs for ice sports and programming, offering ice hockey, figure skating, public lessons, skating sessions, and dry-floor summer use for sports, such as lacrosse and ball hockey.”

SEE ALSO: Construction for new Cloverdale Arena on schedule

SEE ALSO: Brenda Locke calls out Doug McCallum over costs associated with Cloverdale Arena delays

SEE ALSO: More than $50M has been allocated over the next three years for a ‘Sport & Ice Complex’ in Cloverdale

Council re-approved the contract for the new Cloverdale arena in June, 2021, after site prep was done in 2017 and then the project was shelved for several years.

The new rink design had to be adjusted because a set for the TV series “Superman & Lois” was built on the Fairgrounds’ northeast corner. The Warner Bros. production has leased the land for the next several years, which is a revenue generator for the city. As such, the arena project’s footprint needed to be reduced.

The arena complex will also include some major site development at the Fairgrounds. A new road will be built as 177B Street will extend down from 64 Avenue and connect with both 62A Avenue and 62 Avenue. Two hundred parking spaces will also be added. “The offsite scope is being tendered now with the intention to start construction in March 2022 with completion in early Summer 2022,” the report said.

When first announced, the city said the arena would open in the fall or winter of 2023. When Corporate Report R035 was published, it noted the arena would open by early 2024.

According to the Planning & Development department, the project is still “scheduled to be completed in early 2024.”

More than $50 million has been earmarked for a Sport & Ice Complex.

A total of $55 million has been allocated over the next three years in the city’s budget for 2022, which includes a five-year financial plan through to 2026. That funding breakdown works out to $32 million in 2022, $13 million in 2023, and $10 million in 2024.

The rink project will see the twin-sheet arena located at 17770 64 Avenue.



editor@cloverdalereporter.com

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Malin Jordan

About the Author: Malin Jordan

Malin is the editor of the Cloverdale Reporter.
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