Grunthal and Mitchell ice rinks will soon shut down for the season

The ice rinks in Grunthal and Mitchell are expected to shut down for the season sometime next week. 

Jason Peters from the RM of Hanover’s Recreation Department says he is expecting both of the indoor arenas to shut down around March 24th. 

“It does depend a little bit on how the minor hockey associations in those two communities wrap up, so if they're done earlier, we could see a day or two variation in that,” he says. “But we're looking at the end of next week as our target for shutdown.” 

He says the indoor ice is still in good shape, but the outdoor ice is in a bit of a different situation. 

“We are still currently open in our communities for outdoor skating, but it is a day-to-day thing.” 

Peters says the outdoor rinks may be closed for the occasional evening due to warm weather or ice conditions where they feel it’s not safe. 

“We're probably on the verge of most of those rinks being closed potentially this week for the season.” 

As for when the ice plants in Grunthal and Mitchell will need to be replaced, Peters notes that they are looking at needing to replace or refurbish them in the next few years. 

"But we don't have a target date in either of our buildings of when that might happen, but it's definitely on the horizon,” he says. “I know there's lots of discussion about that. Both of the ice plants that we have in our buildings are older and are nearing the end of their life expectancy.” 

He notes that they have ongoing maintenance for the arenas which takes place each year.