Kraft Hockeyville-winning town of Taber reopens ice rink after 2025 explosion

By Justin Sibbet Global News

Posted July 31, 2026 8:46 pm

Updated July 31, 2026 8:50 pm

2 min read

1:59 2026 Kraft Hockeyville winning town reopens ice rink following explosion before Christmas 

WATCH: Just days before Christmas 2025, an explosion severely damaged the only ice arena in Taber, Alta. The town managed to win Kraft Hockeyville after capturing the hearts of the nation, securing funds toward its multi-million dollar rebuild. Now, as Justin Sibbet reports, the first skaters hit the ice almost eight months later.

On Dec. 17, 2025, an explosion rocked the arena at the small southern Alberta town of Taber.

A spark ignited a propane leak in the Zamboni room, destroying walls and launching the exterior Zamboni door across the parking lot.

“Dec. 17 was a difficult day for all around our community and the area,” said Andrew Prokop, Taber mayor.

1:57 Community rallies as cause of explosion at Taber arena revealed

Nobody was injured, but the explosion caused significant damage to the building, which is the only ice rink in the community and also houses the curling centre.

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“Originally, we were quoted a $10.8 million repair cost. Most of that would have been covered by insurance, but $4.3 million was not covered,” said town CAO Derrin Thibault.

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He says it was a long road to get to a point where they could finally welcome back skaters, which they did on Friday.

“It feels like 40-50 pounds off my back. This was an aggressive target to meet and we were able to meet it.”

It was all smiles in the arena when the ribbon was cut, cake was served and skaters tested the ice — all made possible by the town winning Kraft Hockeyville 2026.

2:01 Taber, Alta. wins $250K for rink upgrades from Kraft Hockeyville contest

“We’re thrilled we were able to win that and the $300,000 all total that will go a long ways to the repair and bills required for the rebuild,” said Prokop.

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Despite having already spent a substantial amount of money to get to this point, the work is far from done.

“We haven’t made any final decisions on the small ice (rink) but we will definitely be getting the curling rink ice up and running, ideally as close to the season opener as possible,” said Prokop.

Overall, the experience from explosion to Hockeyville to first skates back on the ice have shown the entirety of southern Alberta will band together when needed.

“Credit to minor hockey — they didn’t lose any games. They managed to fit their games in elsewhere, very grateful to the municipalities that had ice available to us.”

As part of the celebrations on Friday, Taber also inducted two new members onto its wall of honour. Gerry Beckie and Joe Orban.

© 2026 Global News, a division of Corus Entertainment Inc.