In late August, crews at Braemar Arena pulled the old, corroded steel coolant pipes out of the East Rink floor. The pipes dated to the late 1960s. Crews dug past them and hit frozen ground. An engineering firm measured the soil on Monday, Aug. 24, and found frost 12 feet deep at its thickest point, as the Sun Current reported.
Across town, on the old Fred Richards Golf Course, excavators are doing the opposite kind of digging. They are taking out sand and gravel that was trucked in to make good fairways and greens. Underneath is the dark peat the city needs for a wetland.
The half-cent sales tax Edina voters approved in November 2022 pays for both projects. Each one is also tied to decisions made in the soil decades ago, and those decisions set the dates on Edina's winter calendar.
A rink that froze its own foundation
The East Rink's frost did not come from Minnesota winters. According to the Sun Current, the rink's subfloor heating system failed about 10 years ago. A subfloor heating system keeps the cold of the ice from working down into the earth. Once it stopped, the ground under the rink froze solid. As that frost expanded, the floor heaved and turned uneven, and Braemar staff spent years managing the slow and fast spots it left in the ice.
The city knew the rink had this history and tested for it. Licensed engineering firms ran two independent frost tests, the latest in summer 2025, and neither found frost. Project Communications Coordinator Steve Peckham told the Sun Current the rink was closed for seven weeks that summer for testing. Those tests used probes drilled at scattered spots, and none of the probes hit frost. Only after the sand and old pipes were out could crews run an accurate test.
Pouring concrete on frozen ground was never an option. The city's scheduling notice says a new rink floor over frozen subsoil "would all but guarantee major structural failure down the road." Here is how the fix has gone so far:
- Crews took out two feet of sand so heating tubes and thermal pads could sit closer to the frost.
- Ground Thaw Units started heating the rink floor on Sept. 11.
- On Oct. 9, after four weeks of remediation, an engineering firm's tests found no frost left.
- Next comes a new subfloor heating system and coolant pipes, then a new concrete floor that has to cure for 28 days.
The East Rink's reopening date has moved twice since August:
| When announced | East Rink target | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Original plan | Oct. 20 | City scheduling notice |
| After frost found, late August | Jan. 1 | City scheduling notice |
| Oct. 9, 2026 update | Dec. 26 | City frost update |
The city says it cannot promise no other surprises will push the date back.
The bigger Braemar build behind the delay
The East Rink is one phase of a much larger job. The South Rink was finished in July, before work moved east. The full $45.2 million project adds a fourth indoor rink, a central corridor and a second lobby. It also replaces refrigeration, ice-making and HVAC systems and upgrades the locker rooms, restrooms, spectator seating and accessibility. On Sept. 8, the city reported that the City Council had approved a $33.2 million Guaranteed Maximum Price for Knutson Construction Services, which is running the job as construction manager at risk.
The city has described why the arena needs all this. Braemar was built in the 1960s, it has had a patchwork of upgrades since, and demand for ice from hockey, figure skating and open skating is higher than it can supply. That is also why losing one sheet hurts. "For a lot of communities, that's not that big of a deal. But in Edina, it really is," Peckham told the Sun Current. Braemar is running two ice sheets through the fall while staff move existing time slots around and help user groups find other local ice. KARE 11 reported that staff were also considering longer operating hours. The station gave the whole project's finish only as "next fall/winter."
A golf course built on imported ground
The digging at Fred Richards Park has a similar backstory. When Edina bought Normandale Golf Course and rebuilt it as Fred Richards, an executive-length nine-hole, par-29 course, the tees and greens were built with up to 16 inches of sand over gravel. Irrigation and drain tile went in underneath to give short-mowed turf the right growing conditions.
The city's project page puts the problem plainly: "What is good for short mowed golf play was not what was native to the site." Golf-course soil cannot support savanna, prairie or the site's original wetland plants. So in the new wetland preserve on the park's west side, excavators are digging down to the dark brown and black peat. They are removing:
- Light-colored sand, silt sand and gravel brought in when the course was built
- Landscape fabrics and geogrid
- Drain tile
- Irrigation piping
In the Braemar fix, crews removed sand so heat could reach the frost. At Fred Richards, crews are removing sand so native plants can reach the peat. In both places, the layer someone added decades ago has to come out before the new project can go in.
The project team says wetland restoration runs from fall 2026 into spring and summer 2027. It starts with stormwater connections and grading, then dredge removal and bank reshaping, then invasive-species control, and only after that planting and seeding. Native seeding and plant establishment are being done in partnership with Hennepin County Natural Resources.
What is going up while the old ground comes out
The 43-acre park, nearly double the size of Centennial Lakes Park, is budgeted at $17.7 million. It will be split into three zones. The Central Green gets pickleball and basketball courts, lawn games, a stage area and a renovated clubhouse. The Wetland Preserve gets restored wetlands, play nodes, wildlife habitat structures and a trail. The Great Lawn and Loop gets a new trail, an open lawn with good drainage, a picnic pavilion, and traditional and inclusive playgrounds.
The October progress updates show the work above ground. As of the Oct. 2 update, the pavilion's foundation block and insulation were complete. By the week of Oct. 12, crews were laying blockwork and a base for steel. The pavilion will have accessible restrooms and space for a future concessionaire. Crews are also grading the parking lot and the new entry road from West 77th Street, which replaces the old maintenance building. They are laying stormwater-infiltration pipe as well.
The city has not given opening dates for any of the three zones. For people using the Nine Mile Creek Trail, the Oct. 2 update said a trail crossing and possible temporary closure may come later this fall, with timing and detours announced once scheduled.
The winter calendar these projects leave behind
These two sites set most of the rest of Edina's season. Braemar's other facilities and the city's programs are keeping to their own dates:
| Date | What happens | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Sat., Oct. 31 | Braemar Golf Dome reopens for a season running through April 30, 2027 | Braemar Golf |
| Tue., Nov. 4, noon | Edina residents' registration opens for winter and spring activities; nonresidents follow Nov. 10 | City of Edina |
| Dec. 2, 9 and 16 | Skate School registration dates, depending on enrollment and residency | City of Edina |
| Dec. 3 to 5 | Photos with Santa at Centennial Lakes Park, Jingle Bingo, Puzzles, Pizza & Pints, and Holiday Family Bingo | City calendar |
| Dec. 26 | Target date for East Rink play at Braemar Arena | City frost update |
All three Skate School registration dates fall before the East Rink's target. Until Dec. 26, Braemar is a three-rink arena running on two sheets. The 28-day concrete cure has no shortcut, and that cure is the last fixed step between now and the third sheet.
If you are weighing how projects like Braemar and Fred Richards could affect a home nearby, or simply want to talk through what is changing around Edina's parks, Sally English is glad to share what she is following. Let's Connect.
