Hockey arena destroyed after being rocked by explosion.

A frankly unbelievable situation unfolded in the town of Taber, Alberta this week when the town was suddenly left without a hockey arena.

Residents of the Southern Alberta town were shocked when an explosion that originated from the Zamboni room completely rocked the Taber Community Centre. The Taber Community Centre is home to skating rinks used for curling and hockey, but those have been rendered entirely unusable due to the extensive damage caused by the explosion.

As you can see from the images and the video linked below, the damage to the facility has been extensive and has left the place looking more like a war zone than a recreation centre. In the video you can clearly see that concrete blocks have been cracked and in some cases turned to dust, while frames, jambs and glass are sprawled all over the place after having been destroyed in the blast.

The Taber Community Centre had stood since January of 1969 when it was constructed after the previous community centre was destroyed in a fire.

“The force of the explosion caused extensive damage,” said Taber’s fire Chief Steve Munshaw as per the CBC.

The cause of the explosion has yet to be determined but the good news here is that foul play has been ruled out, so this appears to have been entirely accidental.

There were reportedly a number of people inside of the building at the time of the explosion, but I am happy to report that somehow everyone has escaped this terrible situation without any injuries. While this is a terrible outcome for the town of Taber, thankfully buildings can be repaired and even rebuilt.