Okotoks Town Council has taken its first steps towards the twinning of the Pason Centennial Arena, as they started to look at the scope of the project during Monday's meeting.

Mayor Bill Robertson stresses the current designs are not set in stone by any means, but rather just a starting off point.

"Once we actually have an architect contracted to work out what can be done, those are just conceptual drawings that were presented at Council," he says. "Certainly, some of those things may not be able to be implemented as they appear, because there may be factors we haven't looked at, so they're very preliminary drawings."

Two options were laid out for Council, as seen below:

Two preliminary drafts of the possible layout of the addition to Pason Centennial Arena. (Courtesy the Town of Okotoks)

Robertson says everyone is leaning towards option one, with a few possible changes.

"I think all of Council was in agreement that we'll definitely add one full-sized NHL ice surface, and we will add another ice surface," he says. "And we're looking at the possibility of making a second new ice surface, full-size if that could be possible."

Robertson says the goal is to have the arena twinned in about three years, but of course that could change.

"So if the construction started a year from now, it would likely open between one and two years after that," he says. "So, I would expect that within three years we would have the new ice surface up and running."