Crabbe Mountain Renovations Will Help Resort Host 2023 Canada Winter Games
HAINESVILLE, N.B.–A New Brunswick ski resort is getting a facelift so it can lend its slopes to P.E.I. when the island hosts the 2023 Canada Winter Games.
Jordan Cheney, general manager of Crabbe Mountain Winter Park, said plans to replace four aging outbuildings with a new, expanded lodge containing all its amenities were expedited to prepare the winter park to host the freestyle moguls, alpine ski, and para-alpine ski events.
All those events require steeper slopes than are available on New Brunswick’s neighbour across the Confederation Bridge.
“Originally, (the expansion) was slated to be 2025, but when P.E.I. was made the official venue for the 2023 Canada Winter Games, they had to go off-island for a ski venue,” Cheney said.
“Our old buildings are in high need of a replacement. The new building will effectively replace the current buildings that house our rental shop, ticket office, lockers, and administrative office. It’ll be everything under one roof and better for guests and customers.”
When complete, Crabbe Mountain’s 15,000 square-foot facility, out across four buildings, will be updated to a single 22,000-square-foot space.
Crabbe Mountain is celebrating its 60th anniversary this year. It originally opened with a lodge and the other outbuildings were added in the eighties and nineties, to accommodate growth.
Cheney told Huddle the new, fully accessible facility will be easier to move around for customers and guests navigating the winter park, providing as much as 100 percent more customer seating in the food and beverage facility and other “focus areas.”
Progress
Cheney told Huddle the foundation work is underway for the new facility and is expected to finish by the end of the month. He noted the aim is to finish the entire updated facility by October 2022.
Sussex-based Iron Maple Constructors is the contractor responsible for the expansion. Cheney said they will move forward erecting steel as soon as the ski season is over.
“Once the foundation work wraps up we’ll demobilize and wait for building materials like the steel to show up in March and early April and carry on then,” he said.
Although Cheney was mum about the costs of expansion, he said the new facility is an adaptation to a growing number of customers on the mountain.
Visits to Crabbe Mountain ticked higher than usual last year, despite a 2020 Christmas season that saw heavy rain wash away the snow in a time when the park typically takes in 15 percent of its revenue.
“There was increased demand when we had more capacity days throughout the rest of the season and we finished off strong,” noted Cheney.
With membership sales up 50 percent this year, Cheney said increasing interest came partly from a push to do more outdoor activities in the province spurred on by pandemic restrictions.
“We hope that demand translates into more day visitors,” he said.
Sam Macdonald is a Huddle reporter in Moncton. Send him your feedback and story ideas: [email protected].