Heavy snow, warm temperatures put Whitehorse arena on ice

One of two indoor arenas in Whitehorse is out of commission indefinitely because of a buildup of heavy snow on the building's roof.

The city says Takhini Arena will be closed until further notice.

"With the warming temperatures movement of snow on the roof caused some damage that impacted the arena’s heating system," city spokesperson Matthew Cameron said in an email. "Crews are working to safely remove the snow and fix the damage so that the facility can resume operations."

The city's other indoor arena at the Canada Games Centre has two rinks, meaning capacity for ice time is cut by one-third. Hockey games and practices scheduled this past Wednesday and Thursday at Takhini Arena were cancelled.

Geremy Newbury, president of the Whitehorse Minor Hockey Association, said the closure underscores the need for a new arena in the Yukon capital, where ice time is already at a premium.

"We don't need one new arena," he said. "We need probably two sheets, with the expansion of hockey. I mean, just at the minor hockey level, we've grown I think 27 per cent in the last five years, which is a strong indication of how the community is growing."

The city and the Yukon government had proposed a Whitehorse bid for the 2027 Canada Winter Games. The $185-million proposal included plans for a new 3,500-seat arena, possibly on the site of the current Takhini Arena.

But the government scrapped the bid in 2022 after failing to secure federal funding.

Newbury said between Whitehorse's booming population and the growth of other sports like figure skating and speed skating, the need for new ice is acute.

"We have to put in our ice requests six months in advance," he said. "And to get extra ice [time] on top of our allotments, we have to beg, borrow, plead to get that because there's so many user groups that have ice demands."