Inside Canada's first-of-its-kind stacked five-arena complex in Langley | Daily Hive

Inside Canada's first-of-its-kind stacked five-arena complex in Langley Township

Township of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward at the ARENAS at Langley City Centre, during a tour on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

About four years after local sports groups challenged Township of Langley Mayor Eric Woodward to deliver a facility they never expected to see built, the massive five-arena expansion of Langley Events Centre (LEC) is about to welcome its first users.

The finishing touches are now being made on the new facility, officially called the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre. An official grand opening ceremony is scheduled for the evening of Sept. 9, 2026.

Located immediately to the east of the existing LEC, the approximately 260,000 sq. ft. expansion — about 400,000 sq. ft. when underground parking is also included — contains three NHL-sized ice arenas on the lower level and two permanent dry-floor arenas stacked above two of the ice sheets. The upper arenas will provide year-round space for sports such as lacrosse and ball hockey.

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The unconventional vertical arrangement concentrates five full-sized arenas and hundreds of parking spaces onto a relatively compact footprint. Stacking the two dry floors saved roughly two acres of land that would otherwise have been required to spread the arenas across a larger area of Willoughby Community Park, avoiding an estimated $20 million in costs to purchase more land to grow the park site. It also keeps the five new playing surfaces connected within a single building, which enhances the user experience and lowers operating costs.

But that configuration created a pair of major structural challenges to overcome: the three ice slabs had to remain flat and stable above the underground parkade, while the two dry-floor arenas required long, open spans on the upper level.

arenas langley events centre august 26 2026

Main entrance; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

langley events centre expansion willoughby community park

Stacked multi-floor layout of the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre. (Township of Langley)

Floor layout of the first level of the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, featuring three ice rinks. (Township of Langley)

Floor layout of the second level of the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, featuring two dry arenas. (Township of Langley)

Cascadian Structural Engineering, which worked on the project, describes this stacked arena complex as the first of its kind in Canada.

The suspended arenas are supported by steel structures spanning approximately 40 metres. The system combines long-span steel trusses with overhanging concrete shear walls to provide the required floor spans while resisting seismic loads.

The elevated dry floors were deliberately designed to remain dry rather than being routinely converted to ice. Adding the sand, insulation, refrigeration piping, and other layers required for an ice slab would have greatly increased the weight of the suspended floors and roughly doubled the cost of that part of the structure. A future retrofit that uses new technology to add in an ice sheet may be technically possible, but the facility was not engineered for a straightforward conversion.

The largest of the three ice arenas has about 1,200 fixed seats and a total capacity of approximately 1,575 people when standing areas along the perimeter are included. It was designed to accommodate larger spectator events, such as the final games of provincial tournaments. Eight future suites have been roughed in, while production and broadcast spaces will support live event coverage.

The main rink; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Each of the other four arenas has seating for roughly 300 to 350 spectators. The five spaces each have a distinct colour scheme to distinguish each of the facility’s anchor community tenants. They are also acoustically separated so whistles, horns, and crowd noise from one arena do not spill into another. Enclosed vestibules, multiple sets of doors, and a central spine of washrooms and storage rooms provide additional separation between neighbouring arenas.

The mechanical systems also vary by arena. The main spectator rink and two upper dry-floor arenas use forced-air heating and cooling. The two smaller community ice rinks can be cooled during the summer, while directional gas heaters are aimed at the spectator seating to provide warmth without unnecessarily heating the ice surface.

All five arenas include dedicated broadcast positions and are connected to the LEC’s in-house video system, allowing footage recorded in one arena to be displayed elsewhere in the complex. Sports organizations can also install their own automated camera systems at the designated locations. Green rooms can be used to record player interviews and tournament videos, while the main arena has a theatrical team entrance with overhead lighting for player introductions.

The boards and glass were built to current NHL and WHL standards. The safety features include more flexible boards, a softer upper cap and curved glass at the ends of the player benches, eliminating the abrupt exposed edge associated with older rink designs.

The spectator seating is also elevated and set back from the playing surface to provide an additional buffer from pucks and lacrosse balls. Spectator areas are generally separated from the routes used by players and coaches, reducing conflicts between families in the stands and teams preparing for games.

Even the smallest of details were also shaped by feedback from players, coaches, and other facility user groups. For instance, the player-bench gates use wide push bars that can be operated while wearing hockey gloves, and raised standing areas behind the benches give coaches room to work without crowding seated players.

Yellow community ice rink; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Red community ice rink; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

The two upper dry-floor arenas are supported by nine team change rooms and four officials’ rooms. Other athlete amenities that will be ready at a later date include bookable training and therapy areas with taping tables, two cold tubs, and a hot tub. A privately operated hockey training centre is also planned with synthetic ice, a skating treadmill, and space for strength training.

The ice making system required another unconventional design decision. Rather than locating the ammonia refrigeration machinery room at ice level, it was placed one storey higher so the room could have direct access to the outdoors under refrigeration-safety requirements. Refrigeration pipes descend from the plant to the ice slabs below.

Waste heat recovered from the refrigeration equipment will be reused in dedicated snow-melting pits. Instead of dumping the snow shaved from the ice by the electric ice resurfacers outside, operators will empty it into the pits, where recovered heat will melt it. Debris is filtered out before the meltwater enters the drainage system.

Local minor sports organizations will receive dedicated office, meeting, and storage space. The layout includes individual offices for organizations with permanent staff, shared work areas for volunteer-run groups, and off-season storage for uniforms and equipment. A theatre-style training room will be available for activities such as referee instruction, coaching sessions and video review.

Orange dry-floor arena; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Blue dry-floor arena; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

During an on-site tour and interview with Daily Hive Urbanized in late August 2026, Woodward said the idea for the facility grew out of meetings he held with Langley Minor Hockey and other sports organizations during the 2022 civic election campaign. The groups told him that years of rapid population growth had outpaced the Township’s supply of ice and dry-floor space, leaving teams short not only of game times but also the practice hours needed to properly develop young athletes.

“They described a facility similar to this, never expecting it to happen. It’s great to be here today to see it coming almost finished,” said Woodward.

The mayor said the three new ice sheets are intended to expand the Township’s publicly owned arena offerings and keep ice time as affordable and accessible as possible for local families.

The two dedicated dry floors will also end the recurring seasonal conflict that occurred when spring ice schedules overlapped with the beginning of lacrosse and ball hockey seasons. Because those upper-floor arenas will never be converted to ice, dry-floor users will have predictable access throughout the year.

“We have a lot of catch up to do very quickly. And we wanted to honestly get this one done, get it off the list and move on to the next one because the need is so great,” said Woodward.

The new complex also includes a dedicated public skating lobby with skate rentals and direct access to one of the community rinks.

Food and beverage offerings will include the White Spot concept of Nat’s Original, which is a new family-style restaurant, along with a Triple O’s pickup counter and digital ordering touchscreens distributed through the building. An upper-level dining and event space can be booked by tournament teams and used for functions such as viewing parties. There is also a large outdoor plaza to help support functions within the arena complex and the wider LEC and park site.

Below the arenas, the full scope of the approximately 400-stall parkade was a $25-million optional addition approved by Township Council. Roughly 350 stalls are located on one parking level and about 50 on another smaller level. The vehicle ramp for the parkade is heat-traced, with piping below its surface to reduce ice buildup during winter weather.

The parkade is also intended to support the longer-term evolution of the LEC property. Placing the vehicle parking underground creates the future potential to replace some surface parking with other development and amenities as the surrounding district becomes more urban and walkable.

Lobby area; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Public skating rentals; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Future privately operated hockey training centre; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Auditorium-style meeting room; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Quick service food and beverage; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Upper level restaurant space; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Dedicated ice/snow melting pit; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Underground parking; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Woodward said the total project budget is now approximately $155 million, reflecting additional elements approved during construction rather than a conventional cost overrun. The project is deemed to be on budget and on time.

The additions included an administration level with offices and the rough-in work for future suites. The flexible progressive design-build process allowed design and construction to overlap, with foundation work beginning while some of the building’s later details were still being refined.

Contractor and design contingencies were kept within the overall project agreement, enabling the team to add or improve elements as the plans developed while remaining within the Council-approved funding ceiling.

The complex was jointly designed by TKA+D Architecture & RDH Architects, while Lark Group served as the design-build contractor. Major construction activities first began in December 2023.

“It is a feat. And, you know, very often municipalities, these facilities can take up to a decade or more to go from idea to completion. And that wasn’t acceptable,” Woodward told Daily Hive Urbanized.

The five new arenas will bring the LEC campus to seven full-sized arena floors, when the 2009-built, 5,276-seat main arena — home to the WHL’s Vancouver Giants — and fieldhouse, which effectively doubles as a dry-floor arena, are included. It also represents an overall exponential growth in the Township’s network of publicly operated arenas.

Earlier this summer, the Giants announced their proposed move to a new 10,000-seat arena in Surrey City Centre, possibly by 2030 if the project spearheaded by the City of Surrey is realized.

Woodward said the ARENAS at LEC is likely the last major addition of new sports floors at the Willoughby Community Park site for now, although the Township’s longer-range LEC 2040 concepts contemplate possibilities such as a hotel, theatre/concert hall, mixed-use housing, and other amenities. Potential upgrades to the 2023-built, 6,600-seat Willoughby Stadium — home to the CPL’s Vancouver FC — next to the LEC and gymnastics facilities are also being considered separately.

The Township’s next major sports facility to reach completion will be the fully enclosed, full-sized soccer training facility now approaching completion at Smith Athletic Park, which is expected to open in 2027.

If he and his Progress For Langley councillors are re-elected for another term in the October 2026 civic election, Woodward said his next major new recreation facility priority would be a new community centre in the Willoughby Town Centre area, which is located east of Willoughby Community Park. The facility could include an aquatic centre, library, seniors’ centre, gymnasiums, pickleball courts and a walking track.

Woodward said the proposed facility would help complete Willoughby and prepare it for a projected population of up to 125,000 people. He estimated that between 65,000 and 70,000 people currently live in the area without a community centre, placing added pressure on the Walnut Grove Community Centre, W.C. Blair Recreation Centre, and other facilities serving neighbouring areas. Addressing that gap, he said, would therefore benefit residents across the Township, not only those living in Willoughby.

Woodward has described the municipal government’s borrowing practices for major capital projects as strategic debt, arguing that it allows fast-growing communities to receive long-needed infrastructure sooner instead of waiting while construction costs rise. He said borrowing makes sense when it pays for public facilities that will serve residents for decades, with much of the cost expected to be covered by revenues collected as the community grows.

Scaling back projects may reduce borrowing today, he asserted, but could leave the community underserved and require much more expensive expansions later.

Final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

Main entrance; final preparations for the ARENAS at Langley Events Centre, as seen on Aug. 26, 2026. (Kenneth Chan)

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