Palmer Ice Arena expansion on track for fall opening

PALMER — The project to expand the local ice arena and make room for the Alaska Avalanche hockey team should, if all goes according to plan, finish up this fall.

“We’re hoping to have it done by Halloween,” said city of Palmer public works director Tom Cohenour.

It’s a project he’s been working with since he joined the city in May, but that has been in the works for a little over a year when the Alaska Avalanche decided to part ways with the city of Wasilla and move out of the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Center.

“I think it’s a 145-foot by 25-foot addition,” Cohenour said. “There will be two additional locker rooms, showers and a mezzanine, or second-floor seating.”

There will also be upgrades to one of the entrances. As for the appearance of the building, “It’ll look the same as it does now only it will be 25 feet longer,” Cohenour said.

Parking is really the only other item that was on the initial list of things the city needed to upgrade in order to take on an anchor tenant like the Avalanche.

Also, the city wants to put in an elevator. The elevator was the fifth and final item on a list of add-ons alternates bidders were asked to price out in the bidding process. The other four were included in the final project.

“We did not choose to go with alternate five, which is the elevator, thinking we can get a grant in the future to cover (Americans with Disabilities Act) accessibility,” Cohenour said.

Wolf Architecture designed the expansion and TC Construction out of Wasilla submitted the $1,024,500 winning bid to do the work. Three firms bid on the work. TC’s bid was $200,000 lower than the next lowest submission.

Cohenour said that as of Friday workers had progressed as far as putting in rebar for the foundation.

“But they’ve not yet poured concrete because we’re waiting for the final structural design from the building supplier,” he said.

Along with the expansion comes a change in the name of the facility. Matanuska Telephone Association bought the naming rights.

“The name is officially going to be change from Palmer Ice Arena to MTA Events Center,” Cohenour said.

The city will also be running utilities out to the street to provide a lighted sign for the building bearing that new name.

Contact Andrew Wellner at andrew.wellner@frontiersman.com or 352-2270.