National Sports Center seeks larger grant to replace banned R‑22 refrigerant at SuperRink
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Summary
The National Sports Center and Amateur Sports Commission said the governor recommended $4.5 million toward a much larger $23.7 million R‑22 refrigeration conversion at the SuperRink; the commission plans to pursue additional funding and revenue options to complete the retrofit.
Neil Ladd, deputy executive director of the Minnesota Amateur Sports Commission and the National Sports Center Foundation, told the committee that the 2025 $5 million appropriation for the SuperRink addressed life-safety, irrigation and stormwater work and that about $2.6 million of the 2025 funds remain to be encumbered by session's end.
Ladd and Cara Lodge, the commission's managing director, described an urgent technical need: the arena uses an R‑22 refrigeration system that is no longer manufactured and must be retired. The SuperRink's full R‑22 changeout baseline estimate is roughly $23.7 million; the governor's recommendation included approximately $4.5 million for this need.
"We will go from the freon system that currently exists that you can no longer purchase to an ammonia system," Ladd said, describing the technical conversion and related dehumidification and electrical upgrades that would modernize the facility.
Commissioners on the commission and legislators on the committee noted the SuperRink's statewide economic and participation impact and said they were exploring potential revenue-capture or appropriation bond strategies and targeted legislation to raise additional funds.
The Amateur Sports Commission also requested $1 million for a statewide ice-rink grant program (the James Metzen Mighty Ducks program) to help community rinks complete R‑22 changeouts; the governor recommended $1 million for that program in 2026.
