The ice is in at the BDO Centre in Portage la Prairie, as the hockey season is underway.

Brent Tarr is the President of the Centennial Community Club Incorporated, which is responsible for maintaining the facility.

"(We put in) completely new lining. It's quite an upgrade over the old lining that was there that had some rips and was hanging down and was starting to look pretty tattered, so we've done a complete upgrade of that liner," says Tarr. "As well, we've upgraded our lighting to energy-efficient LED lights. We did that throughout the ice surface. We did a lot of work on the boards to have them professionally cleaned and did some upgrades to make sure they were in good shape for the season coming up."

The ceiling lining was updated, the boards were professionally cleaned, and energy-efficient LED lights were installed.Tarr says the BDO Centre plays a huge role in Portage.

"This is our third ice surface in town. We have two ice surfaces at Stride Place that are run by the (Portage Regional Recreation Authority)," says Tarr. "This facility is run by a volunteer organization, with a lot of help from the PRRA. We need the third ice surface in Portage. There is just not enough, with two ice surfaces, to accommodate all the teams."

People wishing to check out the facility will have plenty of opportunities to do so, while watching some great action at the same time.

"We have a lot of different user groups here, but our main anchors are the Central Plains Capitals organizations," says Tarr. "It's important that we keep the facility in good shape and upgraded so they're happy to be here. It's a good venue for the players and the fans."

He thanks the volunteers and the PRRA for helping them out.

This is an example of the LED lights.