The City of Kamloops is applying for a multi-million dollar grant to help pay for the replacement of the ice plant at Brock Arena – Kamloops News

Photo: provided

The City of Kamloops hopes to save millions of dollars by replacing the ice plant at 51-year-old Brock Arena.

Council unanimously approved an application for the Government of Canada’s Green and Inclusive Public Buildings program, a grant that will cover up to $3,507,700 (80 per cent) of the project’s total eligible costs, a council staff report said.

The arena’s ice plant has reached the end of its life and is scheduled to be replaced. The project will improve the facility’s energy efficiency by capturing waste heat from the ice maker and using it to preheat the domestic water, ice melt pit and swimming pool, reducing the facility’s greenhouse gas emissions.

Last year, the city commissioned a study that found that adding heat recovery to an ice maker to heat outdoor pools and hot water could potentially reduce the site’s natural gas consumption by 66 percent and greenhouse gas emissions by 48 percent.

The federal grant program offers funding to retrofit, renovate or retrofit existing publicly accessible public buildings, giving priority to projects that improve energy efficiency and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. However, to be eligible, a project is recommended to achieve at least a 25 percent improvement in energy efficiency over the building’s baseline energy consumption.

If the city does not receive the grant, the city will still continue to operate using funds already allocated in the capital budget. If the grant is successful, the savings will be returned to the reserve.

Brocklehurst Recreation Center, built in 1973, features a 30,000 square foot ice skating rink, locker rooms and a seasonal outdoor pool. The city has an ice skating rink all year round.

Construction on the project has already been approved and is set to begin next month, with completion expected sometime in July 2025.

The arena will be closed for approximately three weeks after the project is completed next summer to allow for new equipment to be installed, but otherwise both the arena and pool will operate as normal during construction.