New outdoor rink officially opened
The ribbon cutting prior to the grand opening of the first phase of the Outdoor Rink project. Courtesy Dawn Stacey
After years of development, Saturday saw the new outdoor rink next to the Kahnawake Sports Complex have its first lacrosse action with two Kahnawake Mohawks Minor Lacrosse Association (KMMLA) all-star games that followed the official opening ceremony and ribbon cutting.
“It’s an honour to have been a part of the ribbon-cutting ceremony,” said Mohawk Council of Kahnawake (MCK) chief Ryan Montour, who was joined by Sports and Recreation director Roiatate Horn, Kahnawake Hunters’ owner Derek Stacey, and KMMLA president Kirby Joe Diabo for the ceremonial cutting.
Food vendors and fundraising efforts for the KMMLA also took place that day, and the event tied into the Junior B Hunters’ banner raising ceremony that evening.
Montour credited Diabo’s leadership in getting the project started, as well as the high quality of the rink even as it stands with a whole other phase to go.
“This is a community member’s initiative. You don’t have to be in a leadership position to be a leader, you don’t have to be a council chief, you don’t have to be a war chief, you don’t have to be an elder, and Kirby Joe has demonstrated that,” he said.
Horn said they wanted to make sure that the KMMLA would be the first to use the rink because of Diabo being the driving force behind the project.
“Just to see their faces, that this is a brand new rink, it was really fun to see, not only for the kids, but also the fans and the parents and siblings that were out there. It was really awesome to see and really well worth the wait,” said Horn.
Tahatie Montour, father of U9/U11 all-star Tahoe Montour, was able to see his son score twice and be awarded player of the game, receiving a wooden lacrosse stick as an award - along with many other members of their family.
“The new rink is great, and we look forward to watching more games being played there,” said Tahatie.
“I’m very proud of Tahoe and happy he played in the all-star game.”
Sonni Deer, father of U9/U11 all-star Otto Deer, was proud of his son making the team as one of the youngest players.
He said that this new rink has been needed for a long time to help support the growth of minor lacrosse.
“The demand for floor time or just a place to shoot around has only grown over the years with more and more kids coming out every year. Growing up, it was just the rink and the arena. Nowadays, kids have so much more access to floor time and training, not only during summer, but year-round, albeit some is out of town,” said Sonni.
Horn said he appreciated the community’s patience, after completion of the first phase was delayed by more than a year.
“We wanted to make sure that we didn’t rush anything. We wanted to make sure that everything was done properly and according to proper engineering, and everything looks awesome. The community was very impressed by it,” said Horn.
The first phase cost $2.5 million, Horn said, with the second phase - roofing, four dressing rooms for players, one for referees, a room for the compressor, lights, netting, electrical wiring, and a scoreboard - costing another $3 million.
Work is being done to finish planning on the second phase, with construction work starting soon, he said.
For now, the rink is available for free use during daytime hours, with planning being done with the KMMLA to have scheduled outdoor practices.
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“We are looking at having it open from nine in the morning to nine in the evening, obviously catering to minor sports as much as possible,” said Horn.
“I’m really excited for phase two to get going and really deliver something that the community really needs. And it’s an exciting project for everyone in the community, especially those working with us here at Sports and Recreation that are excited to see this at the end.”
