SARTELL -- The Sartell city council approved the bids for Bernick's Arena last night (Tuesday) to begin improvements to the facility.

Bernick's Arena in Sartell has been in operation for 12 years and facilities manager Jon Erickson says the building is starting to show it's age.

"Upgrades we have been doing recently is monitoring our compressor room, upgrade our air quality system which is not self monitoring," says Erickson.

And yet more upgrades need to be made.

"We will get rolling with them as soon as we can," says Erickson.

The arena was recently awarded $100,000 through the Mighty Ducks Grant, which the city and arena match. Erickson the $300,000 they received will cover the cost of the much need improvements.

"The money will be used for putting in an elevator to follow ADA laws, then a de-humidification system and a reverse osmosis water treatment system that will help improve our ice quality," says Erickson.

He says they hope to begin in the upcoming weeks and lucky the facility was designed with the upgrades in mind.

"The space for the elevator was built when the arena was for when we got to that point, and then finding room to put water tanks into the mechanical room," says Erickson.

However plans for future upgrades are still in the making. Erickson says he would like to expand the locker rooms, parking lot and get another sheet of ice.

"We are still trying to figure our how to get another sheet of ice, update the bleachers, make the locker rooms bigger which will hopefully allow us to host bigger events," says Erickson.

But until that time comes he says the arena will continue to do it's job for those who continue to use it.

"There was a lot of people who didn't think this arena would really go but we are here 12 years and really doing well," says Erickson.

 

Bernick's Arena set to begin upgrades from Mighty Ducks Grant. (Photo: Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
Bernick's Arena set to begin upgrades from Mighty Ducks Grant. (Photo: Alex Svejkovsky, WJON News)
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