ELK POINT – The waves of golden grain on the Acres for Ice are growing closer to being harvest ready every day, the 3rd Annual A. G. Ross Arena Ice Plant Fundraiser Cornhole Tournament is still taking registrations for their big event coming up on Saturday, and the tireless fundraising committee is still going strong to find ways to add additional dollars toward the estimated $1.5 million price tag of a new ice plant needed to keep the arena up and running.
This morning, three members of that committee - Agricultural Society president Carrie Baumgardner, Agricultural Society director and A. G. Ross Arena secretary Courtney Kelly and Acres for Ice Committee member Loree Reynolds - will be meeting with Town Council at 8:30 a.m. at a special council meeting where they will present a letter of request for a $187,500 commitment toward the replacement.
The committee is also asking the community for letters of support of the Agricultural Society and A. G. Ross Arena operating committee for their request to Alberta Minister of Tourism and Sport Joseph Schow for a $750,000 grant toward the purchase of a new plant.
In recent years, the arena’s aging plant has had major issues requiring repairs, some of them on the very night before a major tournament, and leaving the operators wondering what other issues lay ahead.
The A. G. Ross Arena not only serves athletes of all ages, from tots in CanSkate and youngsters in a full range of minor hockey and pond hockey teams to adults in the Elk Point Elks of the SaskAlta Hockey League and beer league, as well as figure skaters and recently added skating sessions for moms and tots and seniors. The arena has hosted countless hockey provincial tournaments over the years, bringing players, parents and fans from across the province to the community each year.
