One of Thunder Bay’s most popular arenas will operate at reduced capacity this season.

Ice cooling failures and problems with the arena floor are causing headaches for the Delaney Arena, which is located near the International Friendship Gardens in the south of the city.

An assessment conducted this summer by an outside engineering firm found significant brine leaks, Kelvin Jankowski, head of the city’s major facility construction division, told reporters on Friday.

“It’s been determined that the brine pipes are actually failing and have a limited lifespan,” Jankowski said. “The pipes are now becoming very brittle, and so it’s going to be an ongoing problem that’s not going to get better.”

In order to keep the arena usable this season without putting too much strain on the system, three important changes are being made:

• Operating hours will be reduced on both weekdays and weekends.
• Only users aged 13 and under are permitted.
• Fewer tournaments are held there.

The arena floor, cooling lines and boards need to be replaced – at an estimated cost of about $2 million, Jankowski said. The project is in the design phase and, pending City Council approval, is expected to be completed in 2025.

Delaney Arena also had problems with the floor and cooling system last year. Although repairs were made this summer, “it ended up being much worse than expected,” said Paul Burke, the city’s sports and community development officer.

Concerns about short-term, outdated facilities

The Delaney Arena floor dates back to 1967, Jankowski said. The lifespan of an arena floor is about 50 years.

“We’re now at 56 with this floor, so it’s served its purpose. It’s been very reliable for the last 56 years and the reliability is now declining,” he said.

“This is something we have to deal with if we want to continue operating this facility.”

Burke says the city has consulted with user groups and is working to ensure all users are accommodated in other areas of the city as well.

However, there was strong reaction on social media to the upcoming changes at Delaney Arena.

Mark Shedden is tournament director for the Port Arthur Minor Hockey Association and tournament chairman for KC Minor Hockey Thunder Bay. He said the restrictions placed on the arena are “disappointing” – especially on such short notice.

“A lot of people just feel like it happened practically right before the season starts next week,” Shedden said.

Delaney Arena offers the largest ice rink in the city and hosts numerous tournaments, he said, but the challenge remains to distribute ice time throughout the city to meet the needs of all user groups.

“We’ve lost two ice rinks in five years,” he said. “We’re accepting new associations that use ice rinks, but we’re running out of ice rinks – so I don’t think reducing the ice rinks is an option.”

“These facilities are getting old and it is really time to rethink our development for ice hockey stadiums.”

Shedden would like to see more investment in the city’s arena infrastructure to ensure everyone, especially youth, has ample opportunities to stay active during the winter.

“Our winters are long and the skiing is actually great, but it’s not always consistent,” Shedden said.

“The majority of these kids are going to end up on hockey rinks, and if they don’t end up there and don’t have an opportunity to get on the ice, it’s going to be really damaging.”

He hopes that the ice hockey associations will work together and push for changes in the awarding of ice contracts.

“Everyone needs to come together and just find a better system.”