The City of Saskatoon will be opening its purse to help pay for a new rink for the University of Saskatchewan.

Mayor Don Atchison said Tuesday the city is prepared to commit $1 million to help build two new ice surfaces.

“The City of Saskatoon has made a commitment of $1 million towards the two new ice surfaces the University of Saskatchewan wishes to build,” he said on CTV Morning Live.

The University of Saskatchewan’s existing Rutherford Rink is more than 80 years old. The campus has long wanted a new rink, with the university putting out a call two years ago for private developers to step up and provide bid proposals.

Atchison said a new rink would benefit more than the Huskies’ hockey teams.

“What that will mean is a lot of kids in our community will not have to travel many, many hours on a regular basis to go to practice or to play their games, that there will be ice available for minor hockey there,” he said.

Saskatoon will need more ice surfaces in the future, he added.