Hockey teams scramble after two city arenas put on ice

Instead of ice, Barry Bonni walks onto a dull concrete surface at the Terry Sawchuk Memorial Arena on Thursday.

The arena, as well as the West Kildonan Memorial Arena, have had to close after failing inspections. Predictably, the city’s hockey community is in a tailspin because ice time is so precious.

“We’re now in panic mode,” said Bonni, president of the River East Royal Knights on Thursday. The Sawchuk arena is the team’s home rink.

Bonni, who is a living legend in Manitoba’s hockey community, said the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League club is scrambling to find ice time.

“We’ve cancelled all our home games for this year, pending finding us somewhere to play,” Bonni said. “Which is throwing the league into chaos.”

He said players are frustrated because their season has been upended.

“We’ve cancelled all our home games for this year, pending finding us somewhere to play… Which is throwing the league into chaos.”

“I’ve had 700 players go through this team through the years,” he said about the team he founded.

He said city staff “dragged their feet” on getting the arena inspected and repaired, derailing the club’s home-games as a result.

“The referee-in-chief is beside himself,” Bonni said. “Because he’s already booked officials for all of those games.”

In the past, Bonni said the city gave the Royal Knights access to the River East Arena, but this time, they’ve asked the team to travel around for ice time, something he called “nonsense.”

“That’s hard on the players, that’s hard on the coaches.”

Bonni said the problems at Terry Sawchuk, at 901 Kimberley Ave., are part of a larger issue between the City of Winnipeg and community members who use its facilities.

The arena, constructed in 1961, closed for six weeks last year and Bonni said repairs needed to keep the arena open should have been done then.

“It’s just disappointing that a month ago, we had ice, and now, they put it down to concrete because they dragged their feet all summer,” Bonni said.

The city indicated the closure at Terry Sawchuk occurred after an inspection found structural issues with the arena’s glulam beams. They’re the massive wooden supports that stretch across the arena and over the rink.

The city said while one was repaired last December, further investigation identified eight to 10 more that need work.

At the arena Thursday, no contractors were present and a person who identified himself as the arena foreman offered no comment.

Officials with the Seven Oaks Minor Hockey Association said they were taken aback when the city shuttered the West Kildonan arena, at 346 Perth Ave., for the season.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that this caught us off guard,” said vice-president Christian Taylor.

Taylor said the association expected the opening to be delayed and was shocked with the announcement that the facility, built in 1967, had to close.

“We’re still drastically short the amount of ice time that we require for our programming, and again, it’s not just us,” Taylor said, adding its association has roughly 500 players under its wing.

At an emergency meeting of Hockey Winnipeg on Wednesday, he said associations offered ice time at Seven Oaks Arena, which will alleviate the cut in ice time.

“A fairly significant disruption, not only for minor hockey, but there are a number of user groups impacted as well.”

Taylor said he agrees with Bonni’s remarks that the closure of the rinks was poorly timed and part of a broader concern.

“There is a gap, let’s say, in how things are being handled and assessed … which obviously has caused a fairly significant disruption, not only for minor hockey, but there are a number of user groups impacted as well.”

He said the city should have looked at the problem sooner.

The arena was closed after it was deemed repairs were needed to its gas-detection system, exhaust fans, and relief vent piping.

Although the city owns the arena, it does not operate it. On Thursday, a volunteer spokesperson for the board that runs it said the closure is up to the city and the province, saying: “our hands are tied; simple as that.”

Mayoral candidate Don Woodstock criticized the city for the closure on Thursday, saying “when a community centre is closed, a neighbourhood loses its heartbeat.”

Woodstock said residents should be “angry” about it.

Incumbent mayoral candidate Scott Gillingham pledged to address aging recreational facilities by establishing an inter-governmental fund of $60 million, with each level of government contributing $20 million.

He called the closure “frustrating.”

“I’ve played a ton of hockey in my life, my kids were in recreation and sport, so when you’ve got something that’s shut down and you have to move the programming to other places, it’s really unfortunate, but you’ve got to maintain safety,” Gillingham said.

An interview request with a City of Winnipeg representative was not accommodated, but in a statement, the impact on teams, families and community organizations was acknowledged.

“Community services is working on alternative ice allocation plans for the main user groups, in alignment with the indoor arena ice allocation policy,” the City of Winnipeg said. “We are committed to working with user groups to address as much of their ice needs as possible.”

The statement said the city does not have any information on repair costs or funding related to either of the closures.

morgan.modjeski@winnipegfreepress.com