Increased funding request for U of S rink meets cold shoulder of Saskatoon councillor

A Saskatoon city councillor says he's surprised that the Home Ice campaign is asking for more money.

The fundraising campaign is gathering money for a new twin rink ice hockey facility at the University of Saskatchewan. Merlis Belsher Place will be used by the U of S Huskies andSaskatoon Minor Hockey, and for public skating time for the citizens of Saskatoon.

In April, the City of Saskatoon agreed to pay $1 million towards the $41 million project. In return, Saskatoon citizens would receive 1,500 hours of skating per year.

• U of S asks City of Saskatoon for $1M for new hockey arena

Now, the campaign has asked to present at a Saskatoon city committee meeting on Monday.

"We appreciate the support the City has provided so far through a $1M commitment and ask for your consideration in supporting this project with a significant further contribution," reads a letter to the committee.

Councillor Darren Hill said he wasn't expecting the committee to be coming forward with another request.

"The ink is barely dry on that, and now we have a letter asking for more funds," he said.

When the city pledged the original funding, Hill said the campaign was confident it would be able to meet its fundraising goals, and did not say anything about any additional money in the future.

"To be looking at an additional contribution, I'm not even sure that there's enough programmable ice time to see a value for that contribution."

2017 budget already written

Council has already written up its 2017 budget, and Hill isn't sure where additional money would come from.

He said the contribution was the first time the city had put forward more than $1 million towards a joint-use facility.

Hill said the decision was made after a study showed there was a serious deficiency in skating rink space within the city, and believed a joint-use facility was the best use of funds.

• Alumnus donates $12.25M to new University of Saskatchewan rink

In October, U of S graduate Merlis Belsher announced he would be contributing $12.25 million to the new facility.

The new facility will not only feature two ice surfaces, it will also have 12 dressing rooms, seating for 1,830 spectators, new locker room space for the Huskies soccer teams, medical and training facilities, a double gymnasium and space for a high-performance research lab.

The timeline for construction will not be set until the building's funding is in place.