Henderson Ice Centre set for upgrades

By Lethbridge Herald on June 3, 2025.

Herald photo by Alejandra Pulido-Guzman The Henderson Lake Ice Centre will be upgraded to add four dressing rooms equipped with showers and washrooms in what used to be a practice area in the south end of the building.

Alejandra Pulido-Guzman
Lethbridge Herald

The Henderson Lake Ice Centre will be getting a two-phase upgrade to improve functionality and accessibility. 

The centre was originally built in 1975, and even though the structure itself is in good condition, the facility is in need of some upgrades to provide more locker rooms in the south end of the building, improve the privacy and functionality of existing ones and upgrade the main lobby area to enhance the user experience while using the facility. 

Jace Adams, facilities project manager told media on Monday that the upgrades will take place in phases to minimize impact on programs offered at the centre. 

“This also allows us to manage the budget a bit better, so we can focus on Phase 1, which will be four dressing rooms with private shower and bathroom facilities in each dressing room which was a huge importance for this project,” said Adams. 

Phase 1 is scheduled for 2025 and Phase 2 is scheduled for 2026. Adams added that Phase 2 will include a new front entrance, a new concession space, a new ticket office, plus renovation of all dressing rooms and existing bathrooms to the current standards of barrier-free accessibility.

“For Phase 1, we are basically taking over what used to be a small, mini practice rink and we are converting it into four dressing rooms. It’s been decommissioned for ten years or so because of high maintenance cost.”

The project has been in the works for the last few years, as it was put in front of city council in 2025 for the 2022 City’s Capital Improvement Program (CIP) project and it was approved then. 

“We worked through several iterations managing cost control because inflation has been pretty dramatic the last four or five years, so we had to work through some different concepts, but we’ve now settled on this concept,” said Adams. 

The overall budget for the project is about $6 million, which will be roughly split 60/40, with the fist phase using around 40 per cent of the funding and the second the remaining 60 per cent. 

Adams said the goal is to have Phase 1 done by early fall this year and Phase 2 by fall of 2026.

“We’re trying to be operational when the ice goes in for the season,” he said. “It will be really tight, it will be really close, but it won’t have any impact on the users as all the existing dressing rooms and concession will still be fully operational at that time.”

Robin Harper, general manager of recreation and culture with the City of Lethbridge said that because the facility was built in 1975, the level of functionality is no longer optimal and therefore in need of upgrading. 

“We have four dressing rooms, while in the other arenas we have at least six,” said Harper. “In Cavendish we have 12 to accommodate two ice surfaces, so an upgrade here with four additional dressing rooms and renovating the existing three will give us a full seven, which will be a huge functional upgrade for the community.”

The upgrade will allow for a gender-neutral change room if required and will also allow them to provide a fully functional official’s room with a shower and a washroom.