Ice Stadium upgrade on target after budget trim

The construction of a mezzanine platform at the Dunedin Ice Stadium is well under way with completion of the $700,000 development expected by mid-February - in time for two international ice sports tournaments.

Construction of the doubleglazed mezzanine viewing area, which extends the entire width of the ice stadium and includes a commercial kitchen, began on schedule in October.

Ice Sports Dunedin board chairman Edwin Harley said he was particularly pleased to be upgrading the facilities for world championship events.

Although the development will be welcomed by rink users and ice stadium staff, it has not been without its hiccups.

‘‘Funding hasn't been easy to get considering the current financial climate,'' Mr Harley said.

‘‘We were fortunate to get some grants early on, including $100,000 from the Otago Community Trust back in September, but recently some of the trusts and organisations we were counting on have turned us down.''

Mr Harley said although the project was ‘‘a week or two'' ahead of schedule, he estimated they were about $130,000 short of their original budget.
‘‘We have had to cut the project down accordingly,'' he said.

‘‘We had to lose the carpet we were to install and cut back the kitchen a bit and we also lost some of the planned heating.

"The ultimate plan hasn't changed that much, but we needed to lose some of those more expensive finishings.''

Despite losing some of the heating originally planned for, the mezzanine area would still be 5degC to 6degC, if not more, warmer than on the ice, Mr Harley said.

The Dunedin Ice Stadium will host the division three World Ice Hockey Competition from April 10 to 16 and will host the World Senior Curling Championship from April 25 to May 2.