Business View Civil Municipal - July 2023

63 CIVIL AND MUNICIPAL VOLUME 4, ISSUE 7 “The biggest thing we had to do was build another arena for our existing facility,” he said, “because our minor hockey and skating had to be housed in facilities outside this community. When we were planning it, we decided to go all in, so we built a 1,442-seat arena. It’s got a beautiful lounge in it. It also has a luge. It meets the needs for our sports association out in the community. “Also,” he added, “we built another outdoor rink on the east side of town. We had to have two outdoor rinks, one of each side of town. That came forth in the 2015 recreational master plan. We also renovated the community hall in 2017, so we could house our seniors and also parent-link with our families in the community.” Community of choice The average age of Blackfalds residents is 31, Barnes revealed, so activities for the young and fit are most important. “We also added a dog park in the community with BLACKFALDS , ALBERTA