Tara Kearsey
Northern News Services

Yellowknife (Apr 28/00) - Yellowknife will see a new arena under construction by next April.

And the facility will not only be the home of just one, but two ice surfaces within the next six years.

After almost two hours of heated debate Tuesday evening, city council voted in favour of a recommendation by its Arena Advisory Committee to begin construction of a single-pad arena complex near Sir John Franklin high school.

The development will be phased to leave room for a second ice surface to be built sometime in the not too distant future.

The first phase, with a projected cost of just over $6.5 million, will be paid for with the city's capital reserve fund, set aside for recreational facilities. The second phase is estimated at just over the $3.5 million mark, and will be raised by groups that will use the ice surface.

The city will now begin negotiations with Yk Education District No. 1 to secure land access at the Sir John Franklin school site.

Mayor Dave Lovell said he expects a contract will be introduced to city council within the next month or two.

"There's goodwill on both sides. No one's playing a game, and there's no reason why it shouldn't go very fast," said Lovell.

The mayor expects construction of the complex to begin in April of next year with a target opening date of September 2001.

The facility is being built to replace the Gerry Murphy Arena, which is in a state of disrepair.

The city has been ordered by the fire marshal to either renovate the arena or shut it down. However, Mayor Lovell said it will remain open until the new arena is completed.