By Joel van der Veen
DAVIDSON — A local ag equipment dealer is chipping in more than $40,000 towards the cost of a new Zamboni for the Davidson rink.
Young’s Equipment — the province’s largest Case IH dealer, with branches in nine locations including Davidson and Chamberlain — recently entered a sponsorship agreement with the town.
The company’s advertising will be featured prominently on a wrap affixed to the outside of the new Zamboni.
“It’s great visibility,” said Cliff Cross, a sales representative for Young’s in Davidson. “It’s probably one of the better things you could put out there for sponsorship.”
Cross was at the rink on Thursday morning for the delivery of the machine, a Zamboni 525 ice resurfacer built in 2011.
Young’s will contribute a total of $42,000 over the next six years.
Cross said the company had proposed the idea a couple of times, adding that they have similar agreements in place in both Weyburn and Moose Jaw.
The proposal got a warm response from the current council, paving the way for an agreement between the town and the company.
The Zamboni, which was outfitted with a brand-new engine prior to delivery, comes with a price tag of $62,000.
A representative from Fer-Marc Equipment, Ltd., a dealership in Regina, gave the rink staff a quick review of the machine’s features and operation following the delivery last week.
Propane for the machine is provided by Riverbend Co-op, whose contribution is also acknowledged via a company logo.
The old model was a Zamboni 400 dating back to 1989. The meter that tracks the hours of use had broken several years ago, so its service life is unknown.
Recreation director Trevor Ouellette said rink caretaker Doug Palmer had kept the machine running smoothly, but with great effort, as it constantly needed repairs.
“You couldn’t go a year without having to repair something,” he said. “We were due probably five years ago.”
He confirmed that Young’s had approached the town with the proposal, with the details being finalized during the summer.
At press time, rink staff were getting ready for the installation of ice, scheduled to take place over the weekend.