St. Cloud State Completes the $11 Million Renovation of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center

St. Cloud State University (SCSU) has completed the renovation of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center, the university’s ice hockey arena in St. Cloud, Minnesota. The $11 million project came in under budget, and the men’s and women’s hockey teams have been back on the ice at the facility since Monday, Oct. 5.

The upgrades go to the core of any ice arena: both ice sheets have been modified to new dimensions, the dasher boards and the spectator netting were replaced to improve player and guest safety, and the ice rink cooling plant was upgraded this summer for the first time since the building opened in 1989.

The arena also received new LED lighting on both rinks, along with improvements in temperature controls and HVAC that make the facility more energy efficient and environmentally friendly. For any ice rink operator, the refrigeration plant and the lighting are the two biggest energy consumers: modernizing them is the most direct way to cut the power bill of a building that has been running for more than three decades.

The work was led by general contractor Breitbach Construction Co. of Elrosa, with the design by Minneapolis firm JLG Architects. More than 16,000 on-site trade hours were required, and more than 98 percent of the construction dollars went to Minnesota companies.

The renovation was made possible by HEAPR funds (Higher Education Asset Preservation and Replacement) that the state legislature appropriates for the maintenance of buildings across Minnesota State’s public universities. The official reopening followed on Thursday, Oct. 1, with a ribbon-cutting where state representatives Dan Wolgamott and Bernie Perryman and state senator Aric Putnam spoke about the cross-party work that secured the funding.

“We are proud that so many local companies were able to be involved in completing this project,” SCSU President Dr. Gregory Tomso said in the news release. “They did an excellent job, and we hope this investment from the state can benefit the economic development of our region for years to come.”

SCSU Athletic Director Holly Schreiner noted that other users of the rinks also benefit from the improvements, such as St. John’s University and St. Cloud Youth Hockey: “These facility improvements ensure the NHBC will continue to play a vital role in our community.”

The SCSU men’s team will open its home schedule against Michigan Tech on Friday, Oct. 9, at 7 p.m., and the women’s team hosts Bemidji State on Friday, Oct. 23, at 6 p.m.

Photo: the facade of the Herb Brooks National Hockey Center. Photo by Xylem22, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons. Archive photo of the building, not of the 2026 renovation. News source: St. Cloud Live (Forum Communications).