News

MEMORANDUM

I am pleased to announce Dalhousie’s Board of Governors has voted in favour of building a new Dalhousie Event Centre on campus.

Currently in the development phase, the Dalhousie Event Centre will bring to life a long-awaited, new arena and community recreation facility on the Studley Campus. It will be built behind LeMarchant Place in the same location as the former Memorial Arena, which was torn down in 2012. All of Dalhousie’s ice-related activities have been operating out of the Halifax Forum since then and we’ve seen a significant decline in program participation and offerings for students.

The Dalhousie Event Centre will provide an on-campus home for student ice-related programming (intramurals and clubs), varsity athletics, and the broader Dal community. Featuring an NHL-sized ice sheet with an alternate floor surface, a state-of-the-art physiotherapy clinic and event spaces with catering capabilities, the centre will be a dynamic and inclusive space for Dalhousie and the greater Halifax community.

It will also add an additional dimension to the overall student experience and be part of the health and wellness hub on campus. Health and wellness is a vital priority for Dalhousie and this new centre will provide a tremendous opportunity to not only promote and enhance student well-being but also new potential for the community at large. The Dalhousie Physiotherapy Clinic will move from Dalplex into a larger and more dynamic space. The expansion will substantially enhance patient experience and provide more opportunities for increased experiential learning for students while supporting various research initiatives. Its proximity to the Dalhousie Student Health and Wellness Centre in the neighbouring LeMarchant Place will make it a convenient location for students, faculty, staff, and the community to access care.

I am most appreciative of the Board of Governors support of this important initiative that will have a lasting impact on our campus and broader community. The Dalhousie Event Centre will be a home for Tigers of all stripes and the addition of a multi-use facility will offer significant potential for those valued members of our greater Halifax community as well.  

While still in the development phase, design plans will be developed in the coming months to be issued for an external design-build competition with an initial targeted opening date in the fall of 2023. I look forward to sharing more information on the project website in the coming months as we move forward, including opportunities for engagement and a public showcase of plans.

Sincerely,

Tim

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Tim Maloney

Executive Director, Athletics & Recreation
Dalhousie University
tim.maloney@dal.ca

Dalhousie University is located in Mi’kma’ki, the ancestral and unceded territory of the Mi’kmaq. We are all Treaty people.