Northfield City Council Approves Ice Arena Project; Guaranteed Maximum Price Set At $26 Million

On Tuesday evening, the Northfield City Council approved the construction of the new Ice Arena in Northfield. Part of approving the agreement is setting the project’s maximum construction cost of $26.5 million. However, after donations, the cost to taxpayers is brought down to $22.9 million. For a home valued at $350,000 in either Northfield or Dundas, this would mean an increase in property taxes of approximately $204 a year.

The vote to approve the project was 4 in favor to 2 against, with Councilors Chad Beumer, Brad Ness, Jessica Peterson-White, and Kathleen Holmes voting in favor and Mayor Erica Zweifel and Councilor Davin Sokup voting against it. Councilor Peter Dahlen was absent from the meeting. 

Learn More:

• Podcast: An In-Depth Look At the Northfield Ice Arena
• Article: Tax Impacts of A New Ice Arena

See all of our previous stories about it here.

Councilor Chad Beumer stated that he supports the arena because of the long-time need for a new one in the community:  

“Quite frankly, when I graduated high school in 91, we probably should have been playing hockey there at that point already.” – Chad Beumer, Northfield City Councilor at the 5/6/2025 City Council Meeting

Councilor Kathleen Holmes stated that the ice arena had been a difficult decision for her, describing herself at times as torn and understanding both sides. She noted that she was uncomfortable with this tax increase:

“And I think that in the future, without an expanded tax base, we might have to put some of those things on hold. Those wants have to wait until we can better share and disperse that burden.”  – Kathleen Holmes, Northfield City Councilor,  at the 5/6/2025 City Council Meeting 

Ultimately, Holmes stated that she saw the value of hockey to the community:

“This project is a now or never in my mind. We’ve waited so long, we have to make the decision. It’s either now or never. We either build an arena with more partnerships than have been in any former arena proposals in the past. We continue to honor the value that we have of human connection and providing a space for that to continue. Just like we provide and subsidize through the pool our other athletic facilities, the library, the NCRC building, and the tenants, some of the tenants in the NCRC. Or we don’t. We decide not to build [an ice arena] and we effectively end a really valued community program.” – Kathleen Holmes, Northfield City Councilor,  at the 5/6/2025 City Council Meeting 

Councilor Sokup cited the arena as something that was a want to the community and not a need, and that he could not support such a large want:

“We all come to this from different perspectives and weigh projects on a case-by-case basis, but also for me it’s really important to keep the bigger picture in mind. When we vote on these things because they add up very, very quickly, and they add up, that number gets really large and I’m really concerned.”  – Davin Sokup, Northfield City Councilor, at the 5/6/2025 City Council Meeting 

Councilor Jessica Peterson-White noted how the debate about the ice arena had gone in the community, and she reached out to those who had a different opinion on the project from her:

“There are a lot of influences trying to convince each and every one of us that people who don’t see things the same way that we do, or who disagree with us about an up or down vote like this are foolish or uninformed or worse. And I just wanted to speak up and resist that actively.” – Jessica Peterson-White, Northfield City Councilor at the 5/6/2025 City Council Meeting