Victor J. Blue / The New York TimesLatif Diaoune debates against Sabrina Freidus, Lily Napach and Charlize Hudson at a tournament with the New York Debate League in Tarrytown, New York, this month. Though debate leagues are now sprouting up across the United States, the New York league stands out for pitting children on track to attend Ivy League schools against students trying to be the first in their family to go to college.

Construction on Bend Park & Recreation District’s Simpson Pavilion project will soon get under way, affecting traffic near the already busy Southwest Colorado Avenue and Simpson Avenue roundabout.

The 29,000-square-foot project, located in the old Mt. Bachelor Park and Ride lot, will host an 85-by-200-foot seasonal ice rink and courts for basketball, volleyball, tennis and other sports. The site will also include a lobby, changing rooms and a concessions area. The $11.35 million project is being funded by a $29 million bond voters approved in 2012. The cost of the project includes everything from design to construction to ice skates and cash registers, according to Michelle Healy, strategic planning and design director.

Construction is set to begin before Thanksgiving, with a pre-construction meeting scheduled for today.

“When it actually starts will depend on how the weather is,” Healy said. “If nothing else, we’ll soon see them staging and getting equipment in place. There will definitely be activity.”

The Simpson Pavilion activity will add to the bustle stemming from the park district’s Colorado Dam Safe Passage project, which is creating new pathways in the Deschutes River suited to everything from kayakers and fish to floaters and frogs.

Because of that work, McKay Park and the Colorado Avenue footbridge are closed. A detour leads walkers, runners and bikers to the sidewalk and bike lane on the north side of the Colorado Avenue bridge and extends from the west side of Shevlin Hixon Drive to Carlon Avenue and Industrial Way east of the river. Barriers will be erected on the southwest edge of McKay Park to prevent access.

“The city is also scheduled to start sewer work in the area, and the pavilion will just add another dimension to all the work,” Healy said. “We’ll have contractors coming in and out, and once we get further into the project, there could be occasional delays with trucks. But those should be minimal, as most of our work is on-site, not in the roadways, though we are doing work on Bradbury (Drive).”

Earlier this month, the district’s board of directors awarded the construction contract to Apollo Inc., a company based in Kennewick, Washington.

— Reporter: 541-633-2160, tleeds@bendbulletin.com