Hockey players, skaters benched by Bay Roberts arena fire
Bay Arena expected to remain closed until end of January, 200 hours of ice time estimated lost
House league hockey in Bay Roberts will be on hold for a few more weeks while the local arena waits for a part to repair an electrical panel damaged by fire in December.
The president of the town's minor hockey association, Brenda Cole, said Monday that the Bay Arena will likely remain closed until the end of January.
"I had a discussion with our scheduler yesterday, and she indicated that we have actually lost, or we will lose, up to 200 hours of ice time, and that's substantial," said Cole.
Where refunds are required, we will definitely do that.- Brenda Cole
She told the St. John's Morning Show that a nearby rink in Harbour Grace will extend its hours to help out, and the stadium in Placentia will provide some ice time, but all-star teams get priority.
"And the reason for that is that we want to keep our teams competitive, and we want to get them prepared for the year-end all-Newfoundland provincial tournaments," said Cole.
The Bay Arena has been closed since Dec. 18, affecting thousands of users in the Conception Bay North area.
The lights are on, but Cole said the arena can't keep the ice frozen.
She said a part has been ordered for the damaged panel, and is expected to arrive Jan. 22.
"Of course, it has to be installed and tweaked, and the ice has to be put pack on," she said.
"We don't feel we are going to be able to get back on the ice until late January."
In the meantime, house league teams aren't getting to play.
Over Christmas, families were too busy to be thinking about hockey, she said.
"But now that the kids are going to be back to school, back to their regular routine, they're definitely going to be missing it."
She said the Bay Arena will extend the house league season to make up for lost time, but some games may get dropped.
"Where refunds are required, we will definitely do that."