City, school district hear latest plan for new ice facility in special joint meeting

The Worthington City Council and District 518 Board of Education met Tuesday afternoon in a joint work session to hear a presentation from Sitelogiq on the latest — and least expensive — plan for a new Worthington ice facility.

District 518 Superintendent Joel Heitkamp described the plan presented Tuesday as essentially the last option for a new ice facility, which has now been discussed for several years. A conceptual floor plan detailing what Sitelogiq said was a $15.8 million building — which would be located on District 518 property — includes a seating capacity of 550 people, six locker rooms (with the largest having room for about 35 athletes), a team room with enlarged restrooms and showers, a Zamboni access rink from the side and exterior skid with a pump room, synthetic refrigerant, glycol and a concrete floor. 

Also presented by Sitelogiq was a concept plan for an additional meeting room and training room that would cost $725,000. If this component were to move forward, it would be advanced through further contributions from the Worthington Youth Hockey Association.

The timeline suggested Tuesday by Sitelogiq representatives includes approval by government entities in August. Ground would be broken on the facility next summer, with the facility to be ready in time for the start of the 2028-2029 hockey season.

An extended discussion followed the presentation. One of many questions, which was posed by city council member Mike Kuhle, asked how confident Sitelogiq was in its cost estimates. The response was "very confident" — it was later added that inflation had been built into them.

Heitkamp also spoke Tuesday about an ownership and operations agreement between the school district and city for the new ice facility, adding afterward that it's still a work in progress.

It's likely that the city council and school board will vote on the plans at their next meetings. The council's next meeting is scheduled for Aug. 10; the school board is slated to meet Aug. 18.