The foundation has been laid for decades worth of hockey championships, figure skating carnivals, lacrosse tournaments and countless hours of public skating.
Contractors poured the floor for the Westlock Rotary Spirit Centre’s arena last Thursday, a crucial milestone in the now nearly complete facility.
Mayor Bruce Lennon and Spirit of Westlock Foundation chair Wayne Peyre were on hand to sink a commemorative coin and the keys to the old Jubilee Arena into the concrete at centre ice, a symbolic gesture of the transition to the new facility.
“This is a transition from the old to the new,” Lennon said.
The process of pouring the concrete floor was not a simple one. More than 20 workers were on hand to get the job done, working from early in the morning until past suppertime. The floor had to be done in one continuous pour, or else there would have been a seam.
About 230 cubic metres of concrete were poured in a six-inch slab, covering approximately six kilometres of refrigeration line.
The floor then had to be cured, a six-day process tha involves keeping it moist so the concrete can soak up the right amount of water.
After that, nobody can walk on it for two weeks and no heavy equipment can be on it for a whole month.
With the floor poured, there are few major milestones left before the facility opens in June. The seating for both the arena and the fieldhouse are expected to arrive and be installed by the end of April, and the floor for the fieldhouse will soon go in as well.
“We’re on schedule to be done for the latter part of May,” town manager Darrell Garceau said.
Even if the facility is still missing a few of those key components, however, the overall shape and feel of the building is apparent to anyone who sets foot inside.
“It’s all starting to come together,” Peyre said. “You really get a feel for the place now.”
April marks another milestone for the facility — it’s been one year since Brenex took over the troubled project after the first contractor, Balon Construction, went out of business.
That transition ultimately translated into more than $3 million in cost overruns, making the Spirit Centre a $15 million project.
Several events are already scheduled for the new facility, with a grand opening to be held in early June, a Randy Travis concert scheduled for June 12, and the R.F. Staples graduation ceremony booked in for June 29.
