True North Sports & Entertainment, owner of the NHL Jets, is "about to break ground" on a C$7.5M expansion of the MTS Iceplex, according to Tim Campbell of the WINNIPEG FREE PRESS. Work on the 21,000-square-foot addition to the four-sheet ice facility on the west edge of the city will "begin in a matter of days and is expected to be complete next summer, in time" for the '16-17 NHL season. The new facilities on the east side of the complex will include "new dressing rooms, training and medical areas and storage for both" the Jets and AHL Manitoba Moose. The new space will also include "offices for Moose hockey staff as well as the Winnipeg Jets Hockey Academy." The "entire project is being paid for by the Jets’ ownership." Jets GM Kevin Cheveldayoff also was "selling the project as further confirmation that True North is serious" about keeping the Moose in Winnipeg "for the long term" (WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, 9/1). The WINNIPEG SUN notes the addition to the ice rink facility is "proof the Moose aren’t going anywhere." The Jets and Moose will "share a hydrotherapy room, which will include two plunge tubs and therapy pool." A media workroom also is "part of the plans" (WINNIPEG SUN, 9/1).
