There are big plans in the works for Lundar Arena in the RM of Coldwell.

Grettir Coop Incorporated's been raising funds for upgrades to the arena for years and were recently awarded a $500-thousand Canada 150 Grant.

Spokesperson Grant Sigfusson says they've applied for a lot of grants in the past and the Canada 150 one came at the right time. He says they've been trying to give the arena a facelift for some time.

"We did a feasibility study and that's where the grant application came in. We have local money that we raised with our fundraising and thanks to CFRY and the talent shows we've raised some pretty good cash, and it's been in the bank waiting to be put to good use."

Upgrades will include insulating the building and a new roof to help bring the temperature down inside from minus 30 to maybe minus five, or maybe zero when it's thirty below.

"We get a lot of support from our community and the surrounding area and everyone's very excited," says Sigfusson. "You see a lot of new arenas around the province and in other provinces, so we set a goal, started raising money. This is about keeping the community growing and thriving. Without a rec centre, you lose something. This facility will satisfy a lot of groups besides skaters. We're going to have a walking track around the inner part of it, a viewing area, and we've got a pretty good plan to accomplish a state of the art facility for our size of a community."

There are a few phases to the upgrade work with the first being estimated at around $2.5-million. "That's budgetary numbers," says Sigfusson. "We're looking at confirming the quotes and getting everything ready for a spring start up. We're in the process of confirming our financial's for the banks to get a loan, and we're working with the RM as well. There's a good chunk in the bank as cash available for the project and we just need to confirm a $1.5 to $2-million loan."

He's hopeful they can break ground this spring. Check out some of the floor plans and different elevations.