Northfield’s hockey rink is outdated. A $25 million replacement is likely on the way.

Hockey players in Northfield have long faced a glaring contradiction: The area’s high school teams have standout players, but the city’s rink is about a half-century old, beset with ventilation issues and outfitted with cramped locker rooms.

But better digs for hockey players are on the way. A $25 million ice arena is set to replace the aging rink in August 2026.

“We’re excited,” said Chris Kennelly, Northfield Hockey Association’s arena committee chair. “I’ve just been really amazed by the outpouring of support.”

The project is headed to the City Council on May 6 for final approval. If the vote is successful, construction could begin next month.

But the new arena was never guaranteed — and some people still aren’t sure it’s worth the cost.

Voters in 2018 defeated a referendum to build a $22 million, two-sheet arena. The City Council greenlit the current project’s funding scheme last summer after attempting to seek a solution to the weathered arena for some 20 years, saif Public Works Director David Bennett.

Opponents of the rink take issue with the tax increases that will help fund the project, noting ice arenas typically cater to a select group of people. That’s a common gripe in Northfield, where a slate of public projects has left residents queasy about rising taxes.

“I get why this is a necessity, but to put all this on the taxpayers, it’s just hard,” said former Council Member George Zuccolotto last June before casting the sole dissenting vote against the project.

But supporters of the rink say it’s impossible to predict who will use the space. And they note a nicer arena offers room for tournaments, drawing visiting hockey families who will bolster the local economy and improving amenities for local athletes.

“You gain a lot in sports,” said Northfield resident Tom Baraniak. “So having the opportunity to participate in a sport like hockey, which is important to the state of Minnesota, obviously benefits students.”

A bevy of issues — the stands aren’t accessible for disabled people and the locker rooms lack showers — has long attested to the need for a new arena, Kennelly said.

But Bennett said it wasn’t until 2023 when the current project came together. That year, officials began developing a funding scheme for the effort:

The city of Northfield will finance the bulk of the project, with nearby Dundas also chipping in. The Northfield Public School District will pay for $250,000 annually to use the space for 20 years, and the hockey association has so far raised over $4 million to offset the bill.

That public-private partnership has allowed officials to develop ambitious plans for the arena at 1900 Cannon Road, Bennett said. The design features one rink flanked by a locker room for high school teams and a space for figure skaters. An elevator offers an accessible option for people to reach the bleachers, and a big room could host birthday parties or other events.

“If all the parties didn’t see the need and work together to come to a solution, we’d still be trying to figure out what to do,” Bennett said.

Tom Betti, a sports venue designer at JLG Architects, the architecture firm behind the new rink, pointed to a few benefits of its design.

The arena will be energy efficient, with solar panels covering the roof. And its planned layout lends itself to events beyond hockey, like Northfield’s spring book fair.

Matt Hillmann, the superintendent of Northfield Public Schools, hopes the new facility draws more families to the district. Hillmann said the district, which serves about 3,900 students, risked losing scores of hockey players to schools with nicer rinks if Northfield didn’t improve its arena.

“Youth activities are something that are really important to people,” Hillmann said.

“And of course,” he added, “every student brings a certain amount of money with them. So it’s not just about recruiting new families, but it’s also about retaining the families that we have.”

Indeed, questions about money dominated the debate about building a new arena. Even elected officials who voted in June to approve the arena’s funding partnership were concerned about the expense it will impose on Northfield residents.

“I’m having a very difficult time continuing to vote for projects that I know are pricing people out of this town who have been here for generations,” Council Member Davin Sokup said at a meeting last summer. “I think we’re shifting who can live in Northfield in a way that is really problematic.”

Bennett, the public works director, noted architects and city officials have tweaked some design elements to reduce costs, swapping concrete bleachers for aluminum and shrinking the rink’s footprint.

Kennelly, of the youth hockey association, said the group is pushing ahead with its fundraising efforts, amassing donations that range from $26 to over $1 million in hopes of paying for some of the features that were cut.