September 9th marks the calendar for the Killarney Shamrock Centre's ice plant to get switched on, in preparation for the Fall / Winter programming.

"We're gearing up for a very busy season," shares General Manager, Liana Smith. "We'll be back at full capacity and in full swing with minor hockey, figure-skating and all of our programming!"

"We've got as many hockey teams, if not more than last year, and the figure skating has booked the ice for all their ice shows, so we're looking for a full season!"

The ice takes about 10 days to complete so Smith expects September 20th for it to be ready, and then public skating begins as well.

Coming back to full capacity after the pandemic doesn't deter the Shamrock staff from staying vigilant with keeping cleanliness standards high.  "Of course, we're still going to follow some of the regulations with regard to sanitizing the building," explains Smith. "If people want to wear their masks in here, they're more than welcome to do that.  But we have no restrictions with regards to vaccinations or masks.  It will be up to the individual."

There have been some upgrades to the Shamrock Centre over the past few months.  Smith says the facility is in great shape and ready to take on the winter season.

"We've repaired a lot of things over the summer.  We've just replaced all the valves in the plant, we're in the midst of our lighting project. So the building is going to be in good shape!" she adds.

Earlier this spring the Killarney rec facility received a provincial grant of $75,000 to replace all the lighting in the building, changing the old ballasts and bulbs installed at the time of construction some 15 years ago, to the cost-efficient LED lighting. The provincial grant matched the Shamrock Centre's input of $75,000 for a total cost of $150,000.