Report: Dry arena project “immensely popular”
According to a recent city report, the dry pad at Children’s Arena has been a success, with 44 per cent use in the fall and 66 per cent use for winter. One problem with one less ice pad in the city, however, is the NASC had troubles with finding enough rinks for its Christmas tournament, according to Councillor John Neal.
By Joel Wittnebel/The Oshawa Express
Keep the ice out of Children’s Arena.
That’s the recommendations included in a recent report from Oshawa city hall on a controversial project launched last year.
The latest report on the pilot project, which started back in June, states the program was “immensely popular” with local sports organizations and opened the door to groups in need of dry pads instead of ice rinks.
“I’m pretty gratified to see the response in the community,” said Councillor Rick Kerr at the latest meeting of the community services committee.
At the start of the ice season – and the arena’s first year without ice since it was built in 1956 – the dry pad was in use 44 per cent of the hours it was available during the city’s fall season (September to December), totalling 449 hours. That number jumped considerably in the winter season (January to March) when the pad was in use 66 per cent of the time.
A total of 10 different community organizations took advantage of the facility, including ball hockey and lacrosse leagues, in-line hockey and roller derby. Baseball Oshawa and the Green Gaels box lacrosse team also took advantage of the dry surface.
To date, use of the city facility has generated $72,255 in revenue.
The pilot project had echoes of the Harman Park Arena fiasco that had councillors back-pedalling on a decision to close the aging structure after a strong community backlash in 2012. The idea was met with surprise when it first came about last summer, with community organizations saying the city needs more, not fewer, ice pads.
Councillor John Neal says the community dissent still hasn’t completely dissipated, and some organizations are not in complete agreement with the city’s report, pointing to the fact that the NASC hockey league had troubles with its Christmas tournament.
However, according to the numbers, every sport group needing ice got the ice they were designated and there was even a little bit left over.
“Yes there are still prime time hours available,” said Ron Diskey, Oshawa’s commissioner of community services, referring to the most in-demand ice-times of after 4:30 p.m. on weekdays and all weekend hours.
The lack of a frozen surface at Children’s wasn’t a complete success, however.
One problem was a lack of surplus ice to accommodate sports teams when large tournaments roll into town. In the past, the city has never been able to fully accommodate this surplus ice and in previous years would only manage to replace about 61 per cent of the ice lost. With the removal of Children’s ice pad, that number dropped by 37 percent.
City staff are looking into the possibilities of extending the ice season or changing tournaments to only allow two per month or non-consecutive weekends to help with the issue.
By keeping Children’s a dry pad arena, the city is looking to avoid a massive bill for capital repairs, $155,000 of which would be needed immediately, and $3.8 million more over the next five years.
In order to extend the life of one of Oshawa’s most historic arenas for the next 15 to 20 years, approximately $775,000 is needed for roof repairs, $950,000 for HVAC replacement and repairs, $400,000 for interior finishes and other equipment, $200,000 in pavement and sidewalk repairs and $20,000 for compressor maintenance.
These items are dwarfed by the fact that the under-slab heating system needs repairs. The system hasn’t been in operation and would need an investigation to find a possible leak, a process that would involve tearing up the concrete floor. Add in the cost of new boards and glass that need to be replaced, the work would total approximately $1.4 million.
The recommendation to keep the arena dry carried unanimously through committee and will go to council on March 21.
According to Councillor Bob Chapman, the chair of the community services committee, the big success of the project is repurposing the arena to meet the community’s needs.
“It’s a very historical part of the city,” he said.
Mayor John Henry agreed.
“It’s a great community icon,” he said. “It’s been a great success story this year and you can see it in the numbers.”