The Town of Hinton celebrated the upcoming end of construction on the Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre on Nov. 26, with a TGIF celebration – thank God it’s finished. 

While there is still a little bit to be completed on the outside of the facility, the town offered tours of the newly renovated change-room areas following presentations from stakeholders in the project.

Dan Pagely, director of community, corporate and protective services for the town, led the presentations and  thanked the community for their patience throughout the construction. He added that there are always surprises when retrofitting an older building, and many pop up at the same time, causing delays. 

There was certainly no room for delays at the recreation centre. The timeline for the project was from June 29 to October, to make sure that hockey players were able to get back on the ice. 

During the presentations, players filed into the centre with hockey equipment. 

Deputy Mayor Ian Duncan told the crowd how well used the centre is, saying 50,000 visitors and locals pass through the door every month. The tight schedule was kept so as not to disrupt the many guests. 

“We’re an active community,” he said. 

The renovations were funded through a $1 million federal government grant through the Economic Action Plan, and contributions from the Town of Hinton and Yellowhead County. 

The namesake for the building, Dr. Duncan Murray himself, was on hand to welcome guests back. 

“We thank the town administration for inviting us,” he said.

Dr. Murray was involved in minor hockey beginning in the 1960s. He helped develop the programs that still operate today in Hinton, Jasper and Edson. As he grew older, he switched his focus to an old-timer hockey program and was one of the founding members of the Jasper Mountaineers. He expressed his support of the renovations with a bit of humour. 

“Buildings need to be refurbished just like old people,” he joked. 

Dr. Murray said he was happy to see the provincial and federal governments taking an interest in the recreation centre. 

Stephen Hanus, the Town of Hinton’s property project manager, led the tour of the facility following the presentations. He also addressed the short timeline.

“We had a mountain to climb in a very short time,” he said. 

The improvements were based on conversations with local clubs such as the figure skaters and the hockey referees. Key areas were identified as needing improvement. The referees needed their own space with more showers and space to write notes on, and female hockey players and the figure skating club were without their own change room. Renovations began by re-organizing the spaces. Now each group has their own space. 

“Just by doing some minor adjustments, we were able to correct some major operational problems,” Hanus said. He likened the renovations to doing maintenance on a vehicle.

Renovations to the parking lot were done to improve safety and the number of parking spaces for the disabled. 

One of the most major improvements that all visitors can enjoy is the concession area in the Bill Thomson Arena, which was refitted with a new floor, paint, trophy cases, a sandwich cooler and new counter tops. 

“As part of every good hockey arena, you need a good concession,” Hanus said. 

The new sandwich cooler is an important modernization, as it opens up the healthy food options available at the recreation centre. 

The arena is part of the original building constructed in 1965. The concession was originally a dance floor. 

“This was the recreational hub at the time,” Hanus said. “There’s a lot of history in this building.”

Inside the arena, Hanus pointed out an area that will soon be turned into a wheelchair accessible viewing area with Plexiglas. The roof was also recently refurbished in the past few years, and new, energy efficient heaters were installed this year. The new heaters not only save on energy, but they pump out more heat. 

Another major change was the public washrooms moving from the downstairs level to the main floor. More wheelchair accessible bathrooms were added as well. Electrical panels were upgraded and made safer for employees to work on. 

The new change-rooms were the next stop on the tour. Hanus said the demographic using the area has changed from one or two girls playing on a team. Many would come already dressed to the arena, or were forced to squeeze into a tiny room meant for one or two people.

“We were tasked with finding more space,” Hanus said.

Now the ladies using the facility have their own space with more breathing room. This allows the rec centre to book more groups. 

Hanus said they wanted to avoid people preferring the newer change-rooms to the ones that were already there, so all of the rooms got a facelift. 

The new referee room is now double the size with two showers. Hanus said the showers were important because referees must leave the rink together under their governing body. With two showers, they don’t have to wait around as long for everyone to finish up. 

“(It’s a) small room but a big difference,” Hanus said. 

The referees now have the desk space for after-game note taking, and their own lockers. The room can fit many referees, as some bigger tournaments will have as many as six participating. Soon to be added is a TV, so that refs can monitor the ice from the change-room. 

The upgrades addressed the changing building codes over the past 45 years, and got rid of the risk of lead paint and asbestos. 

“We want to make sure our staff is as safe as possible,” Hanus said. A specialized crew came in to knock out the old drywall and hazardous material was covered up. 

With the construction nearly complete, Hanus said they fulfilled their goal.

“The main goal was to get people on the ice, and we were able to achieve that,” he said. 

Work still to come at the rec centre includes rock work outside the building, some log work and a paint job on the exterior. Hanus said the renovations are about 90 per cent complete. 

Minister Rob Merrifield and MLA Robin Campbell will be in Hinton on Dec. 10 to officially re-open the Dr. Duncan Murray Recreation Centre and cut the ribbon.