Estimated cost of rebuilding Taber’s only ice rinks in the millions after explosion | Globalnews.ca
A hockey-loving town in southern Alberta that lost its only two ice rinks in a Zamboni explosion says it will cost millions to rebuild.
Derrin Thibault, Taber’s chief administrative officer, says council recently agreed to spend about $6 million to rebuild its large ice rink after the December blast shattered the walls around it.
But the town still needs $5 million more to fix the second ice rink and the remaining parts of the community centre. The town has also requested $8 million from the federal government for upgrades.
“The initial estimate was about $11 million to put things back the way they were. That’s not building new; that’s putting things back,” he said in a phone interview.
“There’s quite a substantial gap.”
The Town of Taber has said it was propane leaking from a Zamboni that set off the blast.
The leak was ignited by a nearby electric heater, creating a fireball that shattered glass around the ice rinks, damaged the roof, toppled concrete walls and bricks, and hit gas lines.
Photo’s taken inside the Taber Community Centre following the explosion show extensive damage with several walls blown out and debris scattered throughout a large part of the building.
Courtesy: Town of Taber
Security footage of the blast shows the community centre’s large garage door torn from its hinges and flying forward as the ball of flame exits the building.
Get breaking National news
Get breaking Canada news delivered to your inbox as it happens so you won’t miss a trending story.
More than dozen people were inside at the time of explosion, mostly in change rooms. No one was harmed.
Thibault said part of the rebuild includes removing asbestos discovered in the initial inspection. The structure of the building remained intact.
Full cleanup of the explosion debris is set to finish next month. Thibault said the town will then conduct a second inspection.
A bit of relief surfaced over the weekend when Taber was selected as Alberta’s provincial winner in this year’s Kraft Hockeyville competition.
The award, from Kraft Heinz, the NHL and the NHL’s players’ association, helps communities upgrade rinks based on a range of criteria, including need and community spirit.
The 13 provincial and territorial winners will get $50,000 to upgrade their arena and are now eligible to advance to the finals, where the runner-up gets $100,000, while the winner receives $250,000 and the chance to host an NHL pre-season game.
The finalists will be announced Saturday, and the winner will be chosen through an online vote.
“The (prize) money is not that much compared to how much it’s going to cost to repair everything. It sure is a nice boost for the community to get the recognition,” Thibault said.
He said since the explosion, hockey players and other ice enthusiasts have been going to rinks in other communities to practise and play.
“It’s just meant more travel,” he said.
© 2026 The Canadian Press