New North Rustico arena and wellness centre opening delayed till next spring

Work on a new ice rink and wellness centre in North Rustico is showing some progress after construction delays have pushed the project's completion date to next spring.

George Noble, chair of the board of the current North Star Arena, says ground work is going ahead and that new construction materials have arrived on the site.

"The roof parts all came in this past week. I don't know how many trailer loads of them came in, they're all over the place out there. And the steel is coming this week," he said. "So then you'll see the big equipment coming in and we'll be really going to town."

The centre was slated to open this fall, but funding and COVID-related delays eventually pushed its grand opening to 2022.

"The pandemic didn't help us. We did a reconfiguration when we put the school in too, so it was just a matter of everything happening," Noble said.

Charlottetown-based Mount Academy is set to move its high school program and hockey teams to the centre once it's completed.

The new $10 million facility will also be used as one of the venues for the 2023 Canada Games. 

Noble said lots of people in the community will be able to use and enjoy the facility.

"I can't wait," he said. "There's just so many different parts to it. It's not just a rink anymore."