Strathcona County reaches deal with Sherwood Park Crusaders on $86M hockey arena

The first game for the Spruce Grove Saints and Sherwood Park Crusaders in the BCHL took place Friday.

A deal has been reached between Strathcona County and the Sherwood Park Crusaders Hockey Society for a new $86-million multipurpose arena to be built in the community just east of Edmonton.

“We support a private-public longstanding organization that has been important to the development of sport and young people,” Mayor Rod Frank said in a news release issued Tuesday.

Ryan Maxwell, the governor of the Sherwood Park Crusaders and a part-owner of the hockey club, said he appreciates Frank, Strathcona County councillors and county administrators “for all their support in this exciting project.”

“It has been a pleasure to work with the county over the past several years on our shared vision of a new facility,” he said.

The arena is to be built in an eastern part of Sherwood Park north of Greenland Garden Centre and across from a development called Cambrian. The hockey club is hopeful the facility will open in September 2026.

The arrangement will see the Crusaders paying for the construction of the facility, which is to include a four-sheet, ice-rink arena that can seat at least 2,500 people in the primary arena, while Strathcona County will provide the club with land as well as $990,000 each year for 20 years “to support the operations and maintenance of the facility and provide an equity investment.”

The city said that when the 20-year deal expires, the Crusaders will return the equity investment of $4 million to the county.

The arrangement will also include the Crusaders offer of at least 2,430 hours of ice time each year to the county for “community-based activities.”

“Entering into this type of partnership opens up possibilities,” Frank said. “It’s innovative and a win-win for all.

“Our community gains with substantial additional ice and event time for families, without the county taking on a large capital outlay or posing greater tax impact.”

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He noted that the Crusaders provide a benefit to the community by entertaining hockey fans in the area.

The Crusaders currently play at the Randy Rosen Rink.

“The Crusaders have proudly represented Sherwood Park and Strathcona County since 1978 and will look forward to many more years supporting local sports with our ice commitment back to the county,” Maxwell said.

“Beyond the sports, it’s exciting to think of the top-tier events and concerts this facility will attract for the community as a whole.”

The Crusaders are a “junior A” hockey club that spent decades competing with other teams in the Alberta Junior Hockey League. Earlier this month, the club announced it had reached an agreement with the British Columbia Hockey League to begin competing in that league.

Four other AJHL clubs also left that league this season to join the BCHL.

The BCHL severed its association with Hockey Canada in May, saying at the time the move to a more independent league would allow teams in the league to recruit high-quality players from across Canada and beyond, while also creating new opportunities for players.

Video: Sherwood Park Crusaders say it hasn’t committed to leaving AJHL even as league cancels games