The Town of Okotoks is reminding locals not to let things get too out of hand at the town's arenas.

In late February, a couple of panes of glass at the Murray arena broke due to activity from spectators.

During the game, a few people climbed up on the edge of the rink's siding and grabbed the top of the glass.

They proceeded to rock back and forth, with the motion eventually bending the stanchions that hold the glass in place.

Two panes fell onto the ice, one of them shattering on impact.

Luckily, neither of the panes struck any players of the ref. Each pane weighs an estimated 200-250 pounds.

Recreation Operations Manager Daniel Robinson says this happened despite warnings and efforts to get the rowdy fans to stop.

"There was some effort by staff and by the team hosting the event to get the fans to settle down, but everybody was just a little bit too excited and unfortunately the structure did fail and that resulted in a delay in the game."

He says this happened with about a minute on the clock and the game was moved to the Piper arena for the remainder.

The glass was replaced the next day, with pretty minimal disruptions to planned activities.

"Normally we do keep excess materials on hand so that we can have quick turnaround for that. It's not expected, but it does happen, that the glass breaks whether it's a puck, a stick, sometimes players. In that case, it's a very quick process for us to clean up, replace the pane and move on," says Robinson.

As quick as the repair was, it was a little delayed by the damage to the stanchions, which isn't usually a factor when these glass panes break.

While contact with the glass is expected, both from fans and players, Robinson says that prolonged stress to the panes and the stanchions is something they'll be looking to avoid.

"The longevity of this occurrence is probably what we want to see as a behaviour that's not continued. That's really what we're talking about. Body contact from a player, pucks hitting the glass, fans banging a fist or a hand on the glass, no worries. It was the repetition and longevity of shaking the glass, we definitely want to stop that behaviour," says Robinson.

"These facilities are here for these user groups, for our community. We want people to come and be excited to be here and remember to respect the facility as a whole. The staff, the structures, enjoy it responsibly."