Yellowknife (Sep 10/04) - Construction of the new ice pad at the Multiplex is going "very well" and people can expect to be using the ice at Christmas time, just as planned.

The $2.7 million project is slated for completion in December and Kevin Stapleton, chairperson for Facilities for Kids, has no doubt the deadline will be met.

"We hoped to have kids skating by Christmas and I don't think there's any question that's how it's going to be," he said.

Construction on the arena -- to be named after Yellowknife legend Clarence "Shorty" Brown -- began in May, but Facilities for Kids was already fund-raising in November 2003. By May, the organization had raised around $300,000 and that amount has now more than doubled.

"We're up past $700,000 in cash or in-kind (donations)," said Stapleton.

"The fund-raising has gone really well."

The overall price of the new rink -- Yellowknife's third and the second for the Multiplex -- was set at $2.7 million, with $1.7 million coming from the City of Yellowknife and $1 million being raised from the community.

Stapleton said that selling advertising on the rink's boards and in the locker rooms and seat sales have vaulted the total past the two-thirds mark.

Seats are being "sold" -- meaning that a plaque in the donor's name will be mounted on a seat and their name will be added to a wall of contributors -- for $100 to individuals and $250 to businesses.

Of 1,250 seats, Stapleton said around 750 have been sold.

Additionally, contractors are essentially "donating" work, the cost of which is included in the forecast $1 million.

The project manager for the new rink is Diavik Diamond Mines Inc., which earlier this year became the pad's financier. Diavik agreed to shoulder the costs of construction, thus allowing the rink to be built more quickly and at a lower cost. The city will pay Diavik back when budgeted funds free up in 2006.

Diavik also donated $50,000 to Facilities for Kids, and wrote off $150,000 in administration and engineering costs.

The general contractor on the project is Nahanni Construction, but Stapleton said there is a large number of sub-contractors working on the new pad.

People can have a look at the progress on Saturday. A free barbecue will be held Sept. 11, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. at the Multiplex.