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People living in and around the Dodsland area just southwest of Biggar were walking around with heavy hearts on Friday morning after news broke of the local arena catching fire.
It was at 6 a.m. when the town’s volunteer fire department got a call from a passerby telling them there was smoke coming from the local hockey rink.
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“About 50 people showed up around 6:30 a.m., there was smoke coming out of the building,” said Dodsland mayor Ryan Neumeier.
“We wheeled up the fire trucks and started deploying the water and were able to stop the fire from spreading.”
Luckily for the volunteer firefighters, the building is constructed with steel and the fire only impacted the interior, but the more than 40-year-old arena is still in need of significant repairs, according to Neumeier.
Tough sight at home this morning.
Big Thank you to the Dodsland, Plenty and Kerrobert fire departments as well as everyone else who was in attendance.
Please stay clear of the area as crews are still on scene. pic.twitter.com/HP5ixE1wQM
— Dodsland Stars (@DodslandSrStars) July 18, 2025
“We just put new boards in last year — that roughly cost us $200,000 — so it’s going to cost us a lot to get this back up and running,” he said.
Neumeier didn’t want to speculate on how the fire started or just how much damage was caused to the arena, but said he plans to share a report of what happened from the fire inspector on the town’s social media accounts once it’s complete.
More than just a rink
Calling a hockey arena more than just an arena is common in small towns in Saskatchewan, and in Dodsland that statement rings true.
“It’s definitely more than a building. I would say it’s the heart of this community. It means a lot to everyone,” said Neumeier.
“As a small town, we definitely can’t afford enough insurance to insure the entire building, so it’s going to take a lot of fundraising to get this back going. But we’re very resilient out here and we get creative when it comes to fundraising. I think (if) we all come together, we’ll be able to raise enough funds.”
The arena has played home to big events and various community fundraisers in the past. In March, the Dodsland Stars senior hockey team hostedCalgary Flames alumni in a fundraiser hockey game.
Dodsland is also the area where current Vegas Golden Knights general manager Kelly McCrimmon and his brother Brad grew up.
“It’s popular rink. There’s a lot of hockey that goes through here,” said Neumeier.
“It’s busy all winter and there’s a lot of people that have loved this rink and love the people that play in this rink.”
Neumeier said that as the mayor the town, he’s not taking no for an answer.
“As the mayor of Dodsland and the manager of the senior hockey team, I’m gonna do everything in my power to resurrect this building,” Neumeier said.
“Anyone else (that) wants to help out or donate, feel free to reach out to me.
“It means the world to me and the same for a lot of the people in this community.”
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