A recently vandalized outdoor rink in Hay River’s Inukshuk Park will take a few additional weeks to set up as the town looks at broader park enhancements.
Town manager Glenn Smith said staff had been preparing to set up the Ray Benoit Rink in the 553 neighbourhood for the season, but have now decided to hold off.
Smith said the town was already planning upgrades to the park early next year, supported by $100,000 in prize money from its 2024 Participaction win, when Hay River was named “Canada’s most active community.”
Smith said staff will spend the winter removing old plywood and cleaning up the site, leaving the rink without boards and surrounded only by a snowbank. The goal is to finish that work before Christmas.
He said the town will also work on finalizing details of a design for the upgraded outdoor rink and park as a whole. He expects construction to begin next year and the project to be wrapped up by 2027.
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“Over the years, it’s just kind-of degraded with end-of-life of the board system and the arena out in the Ray Benoit outdoor rink space,” he told Cabin Radio.
“Just recently, the boards got some vandalism. Probably just vehicles or people in the space had taken down some of the boards and done some damage.”
Smith said the park has seen suspicious activity in recent years, including reports involving drugs. To address those concerns, the town plans to block off the main entrance to prevent vehicles from driving into the area.
The rink upgrades total $100,000, while the broader revitalization project is estimated at about $400,000. Smith said council will decide on the remaining funding during the 2026 budget process this winter.
Other planned improvements include park furnishings such as benches, tables and waste receptacles, along with additional lighting and potentially surveillance cameras to “make it a safer zone and limit some types of traffic that are going into the space,” he said.
