In 2006, Village of Clinton received a $293,700 grant from Northern Development through the Economic Diversification Infrastructure program towards this $601,028 project. This has been a funding partnership of Village of Clinton, Northern Development, and Olympic/Paralympic Live Sites
2012- Residents in Clinton can now skate year-round with the new arena/curling rink upgrades completed in 2006. The Village has now upgraded its arena from an asphalt surface and natural ice to a dry surface and refrigeration equipment to regulate the ice.
In the past, the arena could only be used when it was cold enough to keep ice frozen which led to short seasons and unstable times for ice use. Now, with a refrigerated dry surface to lengthen the season, the Village of Clinton can schedule several more months of ice time for the public, hockey associations, and figure skating clubs.
The upgrade consisted of building a compressor/chiller building between the arena and curling rink which holds the refrigeration equipment for both buildings. The previous forty year old compressor and chiller for the curling rink was replaced and in arena the asphalt floor was upgraded to a dry floor.
"The addition of artificial ice to the Arena has meant a great deal to our community. Hockey teams can now schedule their practices and tournaments with certainty and not be weather dependent and we can host special events such as our Clinton WinterFest without worrying about the quality of the ice. The new dry floor opens up the Arena in the summer to large weddings, graduations, trade shows and conferences."
Rowland Stanke, former Mayor, Village of Clinton"Our arena was originally built by volunteers and, as a small community with a limited tax base, the Village of Clinton would not have been able to undertake such a major project without the support of partners such as Northern Development and Olympic/Paralympic Live Site funding."
Rowland Stanke, former Mayor, Village of ClintonThe Village of Clinton already has an active tourism campaign to market the many different opportunities available to tourists in the summer but the local government is also focused on developing the community's winter recreation opportunities. Clinton can more successfully host hockey tournaments, curling bonspiels, and other winter activities with its improved facilities.
The new floor that has been installed also gives the Village of Clinton the capability to host events such as concerts, weddings, conferences, and trade shows. It is planned to be utilized in the summer months as the facility for the Clinton Ball Hockey League.