Written By Jan Sims
ILDERTON - A ceremony was held March 12th to mark the official reopening of the Ilderton Arena. On hand for the event, were local dignitaries as well as former World and Olympic ice dance champion, and Ilderton’s own, Scott Moir. “I grew up in this area, so I’m pretty excited. It’s a lot brighter,” said Moir.
Major upgrades to the arena have been taking place in a project that’s been in the works since 2024. Key improvements include greater accessibility. This includes sliding doors to allow for ease of entry to the building, as well as accessible changerooms, showers and washrooms. “We put in a newly renovated universal washroom. To further support accessibility for the curling club, we added accessible doors. If there are cross events between the two facilities we can get back and forth,” said Middlesex Centre Community Services Manager Justin Fidler.
The upgrades also include a renovated lobby, dressing rooms, and new rink boards and glass to improve safety for players and spectators. Less visibly, there’s a modernized refrigeration plant.
The cost of the upgrades is $4 million, with $1 million coming from the Province of Ontario.
The Ilderton Area opened more than 50 years ago, and was in need of significant improvements. When it looked like building a new arena wasn’t possible, the municipality made several attempts to secure funding from other levels of government for upgrades.
“This is more than just an ice patch. This is a place where people gather year-round, and by making it accessible everyone can participate in whatever we’re doing here,” said Mayor Aina DeViet of the arena’s significance.
The importance of the arena both the community and Canadian sports is echoed by Scott Moir. “In this part of the world we seem to be able to produce NHL players and high-level figure skaters, so it’s important to have a rink that can make people feel at home, and I think that’s what we’ve done here.”
