Chief Makiinima (left) and Chief Travis Plaited Hair (right) face-off during the ceremonial puck drop by Bridging the Gap Princess Hayden Plume (center) at the Blood Tribe Twin Rinks in Standoff, AB. on August 14,2026. Photo by Blood Tribe Communications Officer Henry Heavyshield.
A packed crowd, Blood Tribe Chief and Council, Chief Makiinima, the Twin Rinks committee and Trustee representatives were all present for Friday’s grand-opening ceremony for the new Twin Rinks on the Blood Tribe.
The $37.7-million dollar facility boasts two NHL-sized rinks, seating for 750 spectators plus 10 accessible seats, while their practice rink can welcome in 200 spectators. The entire facility is more than 86,000-square-feet.
“I really wanted to emphasize to everyone in the community that, yes, this is a hockey rink and our priorities will be our young kids and players, but I also want to make this a community gathering place,” said Chief Travis Plaited Hair. “We want to accommodate everybody in the community to utilize this space.”
The plan is for the twin rinks to be the home for local programming, tournaments, camps and more throughout the year, and is expected to have more than 50,000 visitors every year.
The environment was taken into consideration during construction as well, as the new rinks boast an advanced geo-thermal energy system for heating and cooling, and uses a carbon-dioxide-based ice plant instead of the traditional ammonia. The facility also features an ice-water recycling system, to help reduce water consumption.
The facility will see some use in about 10 days, as the inaguaral Blood Tribe Cup, an open hockey tournament, kicks off and will see a women’s and men’s division, and will be playing for cash. Registration is currently open, and you can register by emailing twinrinks@goodmovement.ca.
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