The Town has been exploring the idea of constructing a recreation facility with twin arenas and an aquatic centre for many years. As early as 2004, a Recreation Master Plan included the initial concept which was followed by high level designs for the addition of another ice surface to the Dale Fisher Arena. In 2009, a grant application was crafted that once again included design elements for the expansion of the current arena, providing renderings of two ice surfaces and an aquatic centre.
In 2018, the Town considered a proposal to build a new recreation facility west of HWY 60 which would act as an anchor and help stimulate commercial activity in Devon to promote business and residential growth for the community. Public participation played a large role in this concept with numerous community engagement sessions being conducted with Devon residents and other stakeholders. After hearing residents feedback on the proposal, the Town recognized that community support for the project was split and the Town would need to explore alternative solutions to bring development, while keeping in mind what Devon residents were looking for should the Town be able to build a new recreation facility.
In August 2020, an alternative solution to both an expanded recreation facility and a catalyst for development was found as the Town's application for funding under the Investing in Canada Infrastructure grant program (ICIP) and approved by the federal government to expand the existing Dale Fisher Arena into a multi-use recreation facility, revitalizing the arena and improving recreation services for Devon residents and those within the region. The previous public engagement conducted in 2018 greatly factored into the grant funding decision.
2021
In June 2021, Town Council awarded the construction tender, but after receiving a cost estimate for the proposed recreation facility Council decided to put construction on hold as the Town’s borrowing capacity was not sufficient to sustain the project.
In response to ongoing community needs assessments as well as financial implications of a recreation facility, the Town re-evaluated the vision for the facility to be more financially viable and address the community’s need of having a second sheet of ice.
In mid-2022, the Town was approved to receive the same funding amount under the Federal ICIP and the Provincial MSI and on August 8, 2022 Council voted to retender the Dale Fisher Arena Expansion Project with the proposed scope change from a recreation facility to a twinned arena.
On September 11, 2022, Council voted in favour of the first reading of the proposed borrowing bylaw 980/2022 to enable the Town to fund it’s portion of the project.
On April 19, 2023, a Shovel Ceremony was held to celebrate the kick off for construction on the twin arena project. Construction is expected to take about a year and a half with the full twin facility complete in the fall of 2024.