More floor sports coming to re-purposed Brooklin arena

Floor-based sports like lacrosse, ball hockey and soccer will get a boost in Brooklin after Whitby Council approved a plan for the future of Luther Vipond Memorial Arena, a month after the last skate at the iconic venue.

As ice sports prepare to move to the future Fieldgate Sports Complex, the programming shift will help create more year-round space for floor-based sports, providing more developmental opportunities in the Brooklin community.

The site will also continue to host long-standing community events, including the Brooklin Spring Fair.

The downtown Brooklin arena closed for the season last month and the community came out for a final skate at the 73-year-old arena, with ice sports moving to the new Fieldgate Sports Complex opening later this year.

Participants at the last skate brought a toonie to the event, with all proceeds going to Lakeridge Health to support a future hospital in Whitby.

The Luther Vipond Memorial Arena on Winchester Road in the heart of Brooklin has served as a community gathering space for recreation, as well as the iconic Brooklin Spring Fair, since it opened in1973.

The rink is named for D-Day veteran and lacrosse legend Luther Vipond (1914 – 1982), who was among the volunteers who helped build the former Brooklin Memorial Arena in 1949.

Over its 23-year history the old rink had been home to 13 OLA and three national championship teams. Vipond was a member of each of these teams as either a player, coach, manager, executive or sponsor. From 1954 onwards, he was also arena manager.

Luther Vipond

A community engagement exercise on what to with the ‘new’ arena gathered input from residents on which indoor recreational activities they would like to see prioritized for play in the space and whether there was an interest in hosting community events and programming at the facility.

More than 1,300 people participated in an online survey on the arena’s future, with several hundred more taking part in in-person and virtual engagement sessions.

The Vipond family was also asked for the input, with nephew Joey calling the arena a “community icon.”

“Luther intended for the facility to be a place where everyone could gather and play.”

Whitby Mayor Elizabeth Roy called the plan “thoughtful and forward-looking” and one that “reflects what we heard from our community.”

“Residents and user groups told us there is a growing need for flexible, year-round indoor space for floor-based sports, and this plan responds directly to that. Luther Vipond Memorial Arena has been an important gathering place in Brooklin for more than 50 years, and that will continue. By repurposing the space, we’re creating new opportunities for local athletes while ensuring the facility remains a hub for community events like the Brooklin Spring Fair.”

A longer-term vision for the site will be explored through a new Brooklin Memorial Park Master Plan planned for development in 2029.