BILLINGS — A proposal from the Yellowstone Ice Foundation could give Billings' former Centennial Ice Arena a new purpose, with plans to renovate and reopen the building as demand for ice sports grows.
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The foundation plans to present its proposal to Yellowstone County commissioners Thursday, seeking a long-term lease of the former arena for $1 per year and pledging to privately fund renovations.
Under the proposal, the foundation is requesting an initial 10-year lease, with an option to renew for another 10 years at the same annual rate. The foundation would raise money and complete improvements through private donations, sponsorships, grants, and other non-county funding sources.
The goal is to eventually bring Centennial back into use, adding a third sheet of ice to Billings and expanding opportunities for hockey, figure skating, and curling.
For members of the Billings Curling Club, the possibility comes as they are already seeing renewed interest in their sport at the city's new Signal Peak Energy Arena.
“It just feels so much newer, cleaner, better," said curler Bob Johnson, describing the difference between the new facility and the former rink. "It's just been a better experience for us."
The $17.5 million Signal Peak Energy Arena opened in July with two sheets of ice, providing year-round space for ice sports. Johnson and fellow curler Steve Schiff say the improved conditions have helped the club attract interest and grow its membership.
"We're getting a lot of area interest, which is very, very encouraging," Schiff said. “We're in this beautiful new facility versus the old facility that got so old it was having some infrastructure problems and equipment problems.”
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The new arena has also provided a better environment for curling, which requires a level, consistent ice surface.
"Because of its age and trying to keep the ice up and so forth, it was hard to curl on that ice because it was not as level as curling ice should be," Johnson said of Centennial.
While the new facility has improved the experience for local ice users, its opening also left Centennial Ice Arena without a purpose. After more than 40 years of use, the former arena closed when Signal Peak opened. For people who spent years playing, volunteering, and building programs there, seeing the building sit empty is difficult.
"First I wondered what we're going to do with it, but what a waste to abandon that," Schiff said.
For Andrew Laszlow, a member of the curling club, Centennial represents decades of community investment. He remembers helping build the original rink and watching it grow into a central gathering place for local ice sports.
In 1977, a group of hockey players began building an outdoor artificial ice rink near 32nd Street and King Avenue, working through summers to establish the program, Laszlow said. The group later raised money to build Centennial Ice Arena.
"We got together and raised money and built the rink at Centennial Arena in about 1979 or 80," he said. "Built the program up, we had 400 players, and it was one of the only rinks in the country that was owned by the amateur hockey league that didn't have any city money."
But as the arena aged, its equipment and ice conditions became increasingly difficult to maintain, and participation eventually declined.
"The rink was 42 years old last year and the equipment was old and it was challenging for everybody," Laszlow said. "By last year, the numbers, which had been as high as 400, were down to about 100-120 people."
Now, the foundation's proposal looks to build on the momentum created by Signal Peak rather than immediately reopen the older building. Laszlow said reopening Centennial would not make financial sense until the two sheets at the new arena are being used to capacity and demand supports another facility.
"The plan is to just gut it, tear out the floor and rebuild it so it's as nice as this, so we can be as proud of that as we are of this," said Laszlow. "It would cost several million dollars to redo it, so the plan is to build cash, build the demand, and then get it going.”
The foundation's proposal outlines a five-year goal to complete fundraising, bidding, and necessary approvals before beginning renovations.
The foundation says it is not asking Yellowstone County to contribute money toward the project. Instead, it is seeking a long-term lease that would provide the stability needed to attract private funding and invest in the building.
Laszlow said the approach is to grow participation and raise the necessary money before taking on the renovation.
"It would cost several million dollars to redo it, so the plan is to build cash, build the demand and then get it going," he said.
For local curlers, another sheet of ice could mean more opportunities to expand leagues, attract new participants, and accommodate additional ice sports without competing for time at the new facility.
"Ice sports are getting more and more popular, and I think having a third sheet would get a lot of use," Johnson said.
The proposal still needs to be reviewed by Yellowstone County commissioners. If approved, the lease would give the foundation a path to pursue private funding and work toward bringing Centennial Ice Arena back into community use.
