Eddie Mountain Arena closes for renovations

Invermere’s Eddie Mountain Arena is closing March 10th for a long-awaited and eagerly anticipated renovation. It has been made possible by both a grant of $215,000 from the Recreational Infrastructure Canada (RINC) Program, a part of Canada’s Economic Action Plan and funding of $375,000 through the Towns For Tomorrow program.

Regional District of East Kootenay board chair, David Wilks said, “We recognize the important role the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena plays, not only in recreation, but arts and culture in the valley. We are grateful for the funding and look forward to construction and completion of the project this summer.”

A wheelchair lift will make events at the arena accessible for every person and a new floor under the ice will extend the life of the facility and at the same time, should reduce energy costs and make the ice surface even better.

When we heard that the floor and piping under it were installed nearly forty years ago, we began to wonder about the history of the arena and discovered a story worth the telling.

The Eddie Mountain Arena has, in one form or another, been a fixture in the community and truly a second home to generations of boys and girls, young and not so young, over the years.

In the beginning, it was a typical small-town rink, only bigger than your usual backyard variety. Later a set of boards were erected and a shed with a wood-stove where you could change your skates and get warm. Not much else. Just happy kids. If temperatures were just right and there wasn’t too much snow, you played hockey. Back in those days, you didn’t much care that it wasn’t fancy – you just wanted to be out on the ice with your stick and a puck! Or try out your new bob-skates!

In 1972, the town decided to create some artificial ice and they moved the rink to the location where it sits today. The surface was prepared with the help of many volunteer hands, with a professional crew from Cranbrook coming to do a full-day pour to finish the pad. That first summer the neighborhood kids found it a perfect roller-skating rink.

To protect the new artificial ice, it was crucial to cover the rink and so neighborhood hockey came to a standstill for an entire year while construction of the roof proceeded. The arena, with its building, pretty much as it stands today, was built over a period covering 1974 – 1975.

Over the many years since its completion, the arena has served a variety of purposes. Besides hockey and hockey schools, figure-skating classes and exhibitions have become a major feature in the winter. In the spring, the annual Home and Rec Show brings together businesses from all over the valley and beyond, to display the latest technologies and products on the market. Summer brings the hockey school, eagerly looked forward to by the hockey stars of the future, the annual Bull Riding in the Rockies “rodeo” and the Old-Timers Hockey Tournament, one of the most-anticipated events of the year at Eddie Mountain. We’ve all attended some pretty great concerts and art exhibitions there from time to time, as well.

Some time in August, when the renovations are completed, the Eddie Mountain Memorial Arena will be entering a new phase of its evolution. The old has served the community well and as the aged surface is pulled up, so a little bit of everybody’s history will pass into the memory books.

Thanks, Eddie Mountain.