With 2025 nearly in the rearview mirror, Lloydminster Mayor Gerald Aalbers says it’s been a good year.
“It’s been, I think, a good year,” he said.
Read more: Hub wows community with grand opening
The City of Lloydminster reached a major milestone years in the making with the opening of the Cenovus Energy Hub, which welcomed user groups in September before celebrating its grand opening in October.
“I think there’s been a lot of excitement,” said Aalbers. “Some concern, of course, about what’s it like inside and what are we getting.”
Despite concerns, he says they still get comments about how nice the facility is.
“We’ve got MLAs and MPs talking about it from all over,” he said, noting the facility will continue to meet the needs of the community for years to come.
“It’s always nice when it’s new and from the perspective that it’s functional, it’s meeting the needs of the community today, tomorrow, into the future,” he said.
A major point of contention with the new facility has been its cost. Built for more than $100 million, the project was funded by the Government of Saskatchewan and the federal government, with the city borrowing just over $40 million to cover its share.
Aalbers says while cost is a concern, had they waited, the facility may not exist.
“The cost has always been a concern, but I can assure people, I’m sure glad we did it when we did. If we’d waited two more years, we likely couldn’t afford it at all,” he said. “The tariffs of today, inflation, everything has compounded astronomically, and talking to other mayors and municipal officials from across the two province, they’re jealous we pulled the trigger and went with the project because there’s people that just don’t know how they’re going to deliver it.”
With the grand opening taking place in October, residents and people from outside the Border City had a chance to see what the future of hockey looks like for Lloyd.
“We had a lot of volunteers step forward that offered tours to allow people to see the inner workings of dressing rooms and how it functions,” said Aalbers.
“As a spectator, you walk in, you buy your ticket, you go in your seat, you might go to concession, you use the washroom and enjoy the event. But to see the actual background and go, oh, they’ve made allowances for space for shows to come in with a loading dock, things like that.”
A key to the newer, more futuristic look of the Hub, is the new jumbotron in the middle of the main arena, something Aalbers says enhances the outward appearance of the building.
“The jumbotron is just one of those pieces. We’ve tried to incorporate a little bit of a futuristic look,” he said.
Outside of the Hub, council began its first full year in office after being elected in November 2024.
“I think they’re finding their way as council does. It is a unique opportunity to serve on council,” Aalbers explained.
Lloydminster played host to a multitude of sporting events in 2025.
“We hosted a number of sporting events as in previous years from futsal to the Aztec Safety Curling Challenge,” he said.
The Border City also hosted the Saskatchewan Junior Golf Championships, Saskatchewan PGA Golf Tournament, 2025 Esso Cup, ACAC Men’s Volleyball Championships and the Lloydminster Motocross Alberta and Saskatchewan Shootout.
Aalbers also highlighted the two provincial governments coming to Lloydminster to meet.
“We hosted for the first time ever, two governments, the Government of Saskatchewan caucus and the Government of Alberta caucus, and they met for a period of time in our city,” he said. “This has never happened before, I understand. So, that’s pretty monumental for 2025.”
His hope is to continue hosting events in Lloyd.
“I hope we can build on sport events, culture events and political events.”
Read more: Lloydminster sees busy 2024
