Shelburne County Arena. Photo: Municipality of Shelburne.

Volunteers from Shelburne are hoping to give the Shelburne Community Arena a massive renovation should they win this year’s Kraft Hockeyville.

Meagan Luiz is one of the volunteers spearheading Shelburnes’ submission and says the arena serves as a vital community space where people come together to create lifelong memories. “So many great things take place at the arena, from hockey to community events and many of us have lifelong memories that took place there, so we want the building to reflect that,” said Luiz.

The winners of Kraft Hockeyville receive a $250,000 prize for arena upgrades, along with the chance to host an NHL preseason game.

Luiz says she decided to submit a nomination earlier this year when it looked like it was possible the arena wouldn’t open after its ice chiller broke. Ultimately the arena was able to open (later than usual) after they received donations to replace the broken chiller.

Following the nomination, the competition is now in its rally phase, where members of the community submit their own stories and pictures about what the Shelburne Community Arena means to them. “The people with Hockeyville will be using these submissions to determine who makes it to the next round so we are really hoping the community can get in as many submissions as possible and share them online,” said Luiz.

Anyone looking to make a submission can do so through the Shelburne Kraft Hockeyville Nomination page.

Once the rally phase ends, a group of four finalists will be selected to move onto the voting stage, after which a winner will be crowned on April 1.

Shelburne’s Mayor Harold Locke also commended the volunteer’s efforts and encouraged the community to get involved.

 The Town of Shelburne are very pleased to have the volunteers that we have. They step up every time and we are very pleased that Meagan (Luiz) and her family are taking on this enormous challenge. We encourage everyone in the community to get involved and help Meagan in every way possible.

-Shelburne Mayor Harold Locke

The arena is owned by the Shelburne County Arena Association, and although they receive some operational support from the Town and Municipality of Shelburne they are primarily responsible for its upkeep and operation.

Sydney, Nova Scotia was selected as Kraft Hockeyville in 2022.