New ice celebrated at Brett Memorial

WASILLA — The Brett Memorial Ice Arena got a new sheet of ice as part of a 2016 bond package that passed Valley voters.

The upgrades to the arena were unveiled at a ribbon cutting Thursday attended by Mat-Su Borough Mayor Vern Halter, Wasilla Mayor Bert Cottle, and plenty of skaters to celebrate the rink improvements. The skaters were happy to be on the ice after going six months without at the Brett.

“There’s no better ice in Alaska than at the Brett right now,” Wasilla hockey head coach Trent Schachle said.

The $3.7 million upgrade replaced ice that was failing in parts, even though the concrete underneath had been resurfaced 10 years ago.

“It was very hard not skating for almost six months,” skating program facilitator Kaitlyn Randall said.

The Brett will see skaters from as young as 4 to as old as 60 take the ice. The Brett also sees the most skaters of any rink in the Valley at over 37,000 visits a year.

“It’s the hockey cornerstone or skating cornerstone of the community. It was the first rink in the Valley,” Mat-Su Borough recreational and library manager Hugh Leslie said.

The piping of the rink was replaced as well as the flooring, and two heated multipurpose rooms were added. The most important, part, the ice, got the major upgrade. Instead of using refrigerant that is no longer manufactured, the Brett now has carbon dioxide controlled cooling.

“It’s more environmentally friendly, it runs at a higher PSI but it’s a lot less hazardous to the environment and you can get it anywhere,” Leslie said.

Burkhart Croft was the lead designer on the project and the general contractor was F-E Contracting.

The improvements give the community of skaters a home just in time for the hockey season.