A school in Windsor wants to build an NHL-sized ice pad on its campus to support its hockey program.
Académie Ste-Cécile International School at 925 Cousineau Rd., not far from St. Clair College, is a private, co-educational, day and resident, elementary and secondary school.
The school is asking the city for a heritage permit to allow for the construction of an NHL-sized ice pad with four locker rooms that would attach to the existing gymnasium.
The former Holy Redeemer College site, built in 1957, spans 25 acres in South Windsor and was designated under the Ontario Heritage Act as a significant work of F. Barry Byrne, a renowned Prairie School architect who studied under Frank Lloyd Wright.
In 2023-2024, the school launched an international prep hockey program that includes a U18 boys team, a U17 boys team, and a U19 girls team, playing 50 to 60 games per season against other prep schools from across Canada and the United States.
Currently the school rents around 25 hours of ice time a week from the city, the majority at the Capri Pizzeria Recreation Complex.
Athletic Director and hockey coach at Académie Ste-Cécile, Robb Serviss, says having their own ice pad would be a game changer for the program.
"All of our programming is pretty much during the daytime. When you look at three times, you're looking at 4.5 hours per day," he says.
Serviss says the ice pad would allow them to give their students more opportunities for ice.
"Whether it's after school or in the evening to develop their skill and give them more opportunity for ice time. With development, that's the key to success: lots of ice time. If we can offer more training hours and opportunities for our students, that's going to make our program that much more attractive," he says.
The hockey rosters at the school are made up of students from around the world, including China, Taiwan, Australia, Mexico, various parts of Europe, Canada, and the U.S.
Serviss says most of these students are looking for a pathway to a U.S. college program.
"Most of our players that come in here, they're looking to get to the NCAA with high academics and good hockey," he says.
City administration is recommending a heritage permit be granted, subject to conditions around the brick used to match the existing structure.
The issue will be discussed at the city's development and heritage standing committee meeting set for Monday, April 7, at 4:30 p.m. at Windsor City Hall.