Mayor Bill Powalinsky along with former Mayor Greg Dionne cut the ribbon on Prince Albert's new rec facility Friday morning. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

By Susan McNeil

New rec centre opening

Prince Albert celebrates completion and official opening of Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre

Sep 5, 2025 | 2:38 PM

A ribbon cutting, speeches, and BBQ marked the official opening of Prince Albert’s new recreation facility Friday morning.

It was also accompanied by children in the background – some skating on the twin ice pads and others jumping into the newly-opened swimming pool.

“This is a facility not only designed to bring people together – its got two NHL-sized rinks, an aquatic centre with a wave pool and welcoming spaces for families,” said Mayor Bill Powalinsky.

“You’ll see that there’s a whole bunch of new technology, a whole bunch of innovations that you will not see in other places in the province.”

Current members of city council were joined by previous members, including former Mayor Greg Dionne and past councillors Ted Zurakowski, Don Cody and Dennis Ogrodnick.

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While the current council has seen the project to completion, it was the previous council that made the decision to proceed, despite a significant challenge in the form of COVID pandemic-related inflation that shot the city’s portion of the cost up significantly.

The view from above at the new pool. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

Dionne was mayor for about a dozen years and during his tenure, not only was the new Lake Country Co-op Leisure Centre created, so was a major expansion to the Victoria Hospital that is still under construction.

“I try to tell people no matter what you do in big projects, the hospital took 10 years to get, this took 10 years to get,” he said. “So when you finally get to the end of the road and you see what we built for the kids, and that’s what people don’t understand, we didn’t build it for me, we built it for the kids and my grandkids – and the future of the community is going to be great with this facility.”

The message of planning for the future was reiterated by other dignitaries who spoke, including Government Relations Minister and Sask. Rivers MLA Eric Schmalz, Elder Liz Settee and Lake Country Co-op representatives Tim Keller and Rick Kindrachuk.

Senator David Arnot spoke on behalf of the federal government, which contributed $24-million towards the construction costs.

“When I came in here, you could just feel the spirit, the energy, the lightness, the brightness, and wow, what a facility that you created here in Prince Albert,” he said.

A youth takes a run off the diving board following the opening of the new pool. (Susan McNeil/paNOW)

Along with the federal contribution, the Province of Saskatchewan kicked in just under $20-million and the city will fund the remaining $73-million to reach a project total of $117-million.

Of the city’s portion, about $20-million will come from local fundraising initiatives.

Lake Country Co-op’s name on the building is the result of a $10 million funding commitment over the next 25 years, while the Prince Albert Kinsmen recently kicked in a promise of $450,000 and will be the title sponsor of the wave pool.

Accounting firm Meyers Norris Penny also pledged $100,000 for the chance to have their name on the ice resurfacer.

The project is the largest investment in recreational infrastructure in the city’s history.

“When I mentioned that Prince Albert has a vision… this facility will encourage active living, which we know contributes to positive mental and physical health,” said Powalinsky.

“I want you to explore, enjoy, take pride in what we built together.”

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susan.mcneil@pattisonmedia.com

On BlueSky: @susanmcneil.bsky.social