Braemar Ice Arena stands as one of the most visited arenas in all of Minnesota. From hosting tournaments such as the Cake Eater Classic, Da Beauty League, and several other large events, the arena attracts an increasing number of hockey players and visitors every year as skating activities continue to grow. “Over half a million people a year come to Braemar, majority of them from Edina. However, we see visitors from 158 different Minnesota communities that either come to play or participate in hockey, figure skating, or other activities at the arena,” Edina’s Parks and Recreation Director Perry Vetter said.
Because of a rising number of visitors in the past years, residents of Edina proposed renovations to increase the overall quality and size of Braemar Ice Arena. Edina hockey coach and parent, Peter Fitzgerald, has seen Braemar throughout the years and describes the need for improvements in the arena. “When I was growing up in the ‘90s Braemar was always viewed as a state-of-the-art complex. It was viewed as the best youth hockey venue in the state of Minnesota. It was clean. It was new,” Fitzgerald said.
However, as time passed, Fitzerald began to notice the decreasing quality of Braemar. “In 2017 and 2018 I started to notice that Braemar was deteriorating. I noticed that the bathrooms were dirty and that the general condition of Braemar was bad. I started to reflect on that and say, ‘Edina is about striving for excellence in everything we do, we want to be the best in our athletics.’ I looked at Braemar and I said ‘This is not projecting excellence,’” Fitzgerald said. City leaders and staff listened to Fitzgerald’s propositions on improving Braemar and developed a 71 million dollar investment plan that would be composed of two voting phases. This investment plan would include renovations and upgrades to Braemar Park and Arena along with Fred Richards Park.
In November 2022, the first phase was a vote on the implementation of a half-percent sales tax within Edina to fund the expansion project. “We felt that the local option sales tax is a good mechanism for the arena. Since we have a regional draw with Braemar it allows for non-residents that use our facility to help contribute toward the cost of this project,” Vetter said. With the approval of the half-percent sales tax, a second phase of voting will be held this November, where residents of Edina will vote in favor of or against the expansion plan. If approved, phase two would provide $31.7 million towards the expansion of Braemar Ice Arena; this will include an added fourth sheet of indoor ice, an expanded lobby, and a safer drop-off zone as well as added parking to the arena.
The expansion of Braemar Ice Arena will not only create a modernized, expanded Braemar, but also connect the community on a greater level. As skating activities in Edina continue to grow, Braemar will continue to stand as a valuable and historic facility. “We want to be dedicated to making sure that kids in Edina have a really truly remarkable place to go skate, and an arena that really projects excellence, just like our community,” Fitzgerald said.
