‘Hub of the community:’ New Ituna arena shines as pride and joy of the town

The culmination of a decade-long journey was celebrated in the town of Ituna on Jan 12, with the opening of its new hockey arena on Jan. 12.

David Renkas, vice president of the Ituna Community Arena Co-operative, said the rink has brought excitement and pride to the community.

“A lot of surrounding towns came and visited, a lot of alumni came back and visited. So, it’s something that the community, the local RMs, our neighbouring towns, everybody’s proud of what we’ve done because it has been actually a truly community project, and we’ve always kept it that way,” Renkas said.

Sean Trefiak, president of the arena co-op, also stressed the importance of the facility, which he said cost nearly $6 million.

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“Having that rink – It’s kind of the hub of the community, especially in the winter months, obviously, with the ice sports,” Trefiak said.

Trefiak said fundraising efforts for a new rink began in 2015 since the town’s last one was in “dire” need of upgrades and replacements.

In 2017, the town finished second in the Kraft Hockeyville contest, winning $100,000 as a reward.

The money was able to jump-start the town’s efforts and from there, the association procured grants from the federal Green and Inclusive Community Buildings Program and the Federation of Canadian Municipalities totalling around $3 million.

Barry Sawchuk found the burnt-up space junk while checking his fields. (Gillian Massie/980 CJME)

The association also received donations from businesses and individuals — including $5,000 from Barry Sawchuk, who received compensation from SpaceEx for fallen space junk that fell on his field.

Trefiak said five or six individuals also contributed money towards the project to help finish it off.

Renkas said the facility is excellent and if all goes well the association will put in another $1.5 million worth of amenities within the next five years.

“That would include better seating, ice chiller … some flooring, improved bleachers, improve on the lobby, better handicapped access for parking spots and things like that,” Renkas said.

“We want to continue to build on what we’ve got right now. It’s great the way the facility is right now, but we want to continue to make it even better.”

Trefiak said his favourite part of the process was seeing the excitement in the eyes of all the young kids in the community who have a place skate.

“If the community loses that hub, it starts to be the downfall of a community, so we want to make sure that we have that place for current generations and future generations to congregate and make more memories,” Trefiak said.

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