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The Charlottetown Curling Club has some new rocks, but there’s just one problem — it doesn’t have a facility to use them.

The organization has continued on since selling its Euston Street building in 2021, with members using other sheets at rinks in communities like Cornwall, Summerside and Montague.

But optimism is high that a new home will be found — the club recently received 64 new stones from curling’s founding home of Scotland, which it purchased at a cost of around $90,000.

Club treasurer Robbie Younker said the process to acquire the stones took about two years. Some of the money used to buy them came from the Canada Games Legacy Fund.

“To handle a brand new curling stone is something that probably not a lot of people get to do,” he said. “It’s interesting to see them all shipped and packaged up, 64 rocks here that are ready to go once we get ourselves into a new facility.”

A new facility will come at a cost. Younker said the club doesn’t have the money to build the project on its own, so additional government funding would be needed. 

The club has previously said it worked with an architect to draft an initial design for a facility on the Town Stratford’s new community campus, estimating the cost at $8.4 million.

The club is prepared to contribute funding to the project using proceeds from the sale of the Euston Street building, as well as the interest earned on those funds.

‘More hope’

Shelley Muzika, a member of the Charlottetown Curling Club’s board of directors, said she sees the new curling stones as providing more hope that a new facility is in the club’s future.

She said not having a permanent place to play has been a challenge, with heading to other facilities forcing some unwanted commute and time constraints.

Muzika said the club has been working with the municipal, provincial and federal governments for funding for the new build. 

“I’m optimistic that we’re going to have an opportunity to see this come to fruition sometime in the reasonably near future,” she said.

Muzika said a new facility could be used to draw new people into curling. She pointed to P.E.I. curler Brett Gallant’s recent gold medal win as a member of Team Canada at the 2026 Winter Olympics as providing more exposure to the sport.

Younker also pointed to Gallant as an example of why local curling clubs matter, as well as the accessibility the sport offers.

“It’s a lifelong sport. People start when they’re five or six years old and curl well into their 80s,” he said. “I’ve met some great friends over my curling days at the Charlottetown Curling Club.”