St Pierre-Jolys arena repairs complete

The St Pierre-Jolys Arena repairs are complete, a month early.

“Things went really well, and everything that was required was local. Local meaning like within Winnipeg, within Manitoba. Nothing had to be ordered out of province, so everything fell into place perfectly. So that means we’ll be able to get our hockey teams back to our own arena,” said Mayor Raymond Maynard, adding it was the structural grade beam that was replaced.

Maynard said parents had to take their children out of town for ice sports with some travelling distances about 30 minutes from town. He said teams from St Malo, Winnipeg, and Steinbach are some of the teams that use the St Pierre arena.

“In my view, if their community does not have an arena, it doesn’t grow. There’s nothing to bring in the young families to come to move to our community. What is there to do? There’s basically not much, right? As soon as you’ve got an arena, it gives you a bunch of other things that you can do, like hockey, ringette, and in summer maybe some indoor sports and stuff,” he said.

The arena was built in 1953 with artificial ice installed in 1974. The new regional rec centre, Le Rendez-Vous, that will replace the arena is expected to begin construction in March 2026.

The $25 million project will be funded by the village, donations, and grants. The province has given $5 million to the rec centre through the Manitoba Growth, Renewal and Opportunities for Municipalities (Manitoba GRO) program. Money will also come in the form of federal funding and naming rights to the rec centre.

The centre will be built in three phases: Phase One will will see the installation of a new ice plant, dressing rooms, stands, and a 64-space daycare; the second phase will be the home of the Jolys Regional Library, which was recently relocated to the corner of Jolys Avenue East and Turenne Street, space for programming and group activities, a café, and a heritage hall will be built to showcase the regions history, language, art, and culture; phase three will see the construction of the fieldhouse, an all-season indoor turf for sports, programs, and events.

“This new recreation complex is going to be a place for people to come and sit down and meet, not just go there for sports, but they’ll be a place to come and sit down and just enjoy a conversation with your neighbours,” said Maynard.