Surrey opens $133-million Cloverdale recreation centre with two ice rinks | Daily Hive

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

This past weekend, the City of Surrey officially opened its newest recreation facility — the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, a major addition to a rapidly growing city with a need for more community and recreational facilities.

The brand new complex is situated on the northern edge of the Cloverdale Fairgrounds, fronting 64 Avenue and just east of the Bill Reid Millennium Amphitheatre.

It features two NHL-sized ice rinks — each equipped with four full-size team dressing rooms, two officials’ rooms, and more than 200 spectator seats and features designed to support accessible ice sports such as para ice hockey.

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The facility also includes skate and helmet rentals, skate sharpening, food services, and several multi-use spaces, including three multipurpose rooms, a meeting room, and wheelchair-accessible viewing areas.

It offers a broad lineup of programs, including ice hockey, figure skating, public skating lessons, and dry-floor summer sports such as lacrosse and ball hockey. A new parking lot provides accessible stalls, battery-electric vehicle charging stations, and a pickup/drop-off area.

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex Surrey 10

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (Timescapes)

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

Construction began in Summer 2022. The project was designed by TKA+D Architecture and RDHA Architects and constructed by Graham Construction & Engineering at a total cost of $132.8 million. To help fund the project, the City allocated $70.2 million from the $89.9 million it received through the Government of British Columbia’s one-time Growing Communities Fund in 2023.

In late September 2025, Surrey City Council approved the contract to build a second phase of Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex — adding a third NHL-sized ice rink, with seating for over 300 spectators, a multipurpose room, community space, officials’ rooms, change rooms, and dedicated spaces for junior hockey teams, as well as an expanded parking lot.

The $33.4-million contract was awarded to Ventana Construction Corporation, and the third rink is expected to reach completion in Fall 2027.

The third rink will be built immediately east of the 2025-completed, first-phase complex — on a fairgrounds parcel previously cleared by Warner Bros. for its use as a three-year-long film set for the production of the Superman and Lois television series. The production vacated the site at the end of Summer 2024.

Future site of the third ice rink; Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

“Cloverdale is growing rapidly, and this new complex delivers the inclusive, accessible and high-quality recreational spaces that families have been waiting for. The Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex will serve as a true community hub and premier sporting facility, supporting residents of all ages and helping to develop young athletes for years to come,” said Surrey Mayor Brenda Locke in a statement on the opening of the project’s first phase this past weekend.

Premier David Eby added, “Surrey is one of the fastest growing cities in British Columbia and residents here deserve the chance to skate. This new state-of-the-art facility will make it possible for more people to enjoy the benefits of staying active, playing sports and connecting with their community. This is all part of our government’s work to build B.C. and ensure our growing communities have the infrastructure they need to thrive.”

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (Timescapes)

Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, Surrey. (City of Surrey)

As previously reported by Daily Hive Urbanized, planning for the Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex has been a decade-long process — one not without its share of challenges and controversy.

The project’s design concept was first introduced in 2017, but following the 2018 civic election, a change in political leadership led to its deferral in the City’s capital plan. Then-Mayor Doug McCallum raised concerns over rising costs and opted to slow the rollout of new community and recreation centre projects.

In early 2021, the municipal government indicated it would borrow up to $151 million to build various new and expanded community and recreation centres, including Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex. The project was fully revived in early 2022, though by that time, the estimated cost had increased substantially, driven largely by post-pandemic spikes in construction and material prices.

Critics have since argued that the facility could have been completed earlier and at a considerably lower cost had it not been delayed, allowing the community and local youth sports teams to benefit from it much sooner — and without the need for value-engineering, cost-saving design adjustments, including major changes to the architectural calibre of the design. The constructed design is substantially simplified compared to what was originally envisioned in 2017/2018.

Cancelled original 2018-created concept of the City of Surrey’s new Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex. (RDHA Architects)

cloverdale sport & ice complex rendering copy

Cancelled original 2018-created concept of the City of Surrey’s new Cloverdale Sport and Ice Complex. (RDHA Architects)

Earlier this month, Surrey City Council approved a $65.5-million contract with Smith Bros. & Wilson to renovate and expand the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre in Surrey City Centre. The project replaces the City’s earlier partnership with the YMCA of Greater Vancouver and Simon Fraser University to build a new Surrey City Centre YMCA, which was cancelled in Spring 2020 after projected construction costs rose to $75 million.

Under the new plan, the Chuck Bailey Recreation Centre will undergo a 39,000 sq. ft. expansion, adding a second gymnasium, fitness centre, fitness studio, multipurpose rooms, learning kitchen, and community living room. The upgrade will also include enhanced outdoor spaces, as well as improvements to the seniors’ café and lounge, billiards room, and additional childcare areas.

The previously proposed 60,000 sq. ft. standalone YMCA facility would have included many of these same features, along with an aquatic centre that is not part of the existing complex and current expansion project.

Aside from the addition of Cloverdale Sport & Ice Complex, the Cloverdale Fairgrounds will also see other major changes. This past summer, Fraser Downs horse racecourse — occupying a significant portion of the fairgrounds — permanently shut down after the City ended the lease. Mayor Locke says the envisioned redevelopment of Fraser Downs includes new housing, public spaces, entertainment, and expanded community and recreational facilities.

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