St. Bon's closure highlights rink shortage

The venerable St. Bon's forum is closed because of mould and structural problems — a situation that will exacerbate the lack of available ice time in the metro St. John's area.

A routine Occupational Health and Safety inspection recently found mould in the rink. Based on a number of other factors, inspectors ordered a structural assessment. The estimated cost of repairs is $40,000 — money the rink doesn't have.

"The kids were like, what happened to our game?" said Steve Power, technical director for Avalon Minor Hockey. "How come we're not playing? And to sit down and explain to a seven year old that there's a structural engineer coming into a building, or there may be issues with a building, that really doesn't really mean anything to them."

Power isn't sure what the solution is to help get the kids back on the ice.

"We can go buy $10,000 worth of boards and put them on Mundy Pond when it freezes," he said. "Other than that, we're stuck. We have nowhere to go."

St. John's Coun. Danny Breen called the situation at St. Bon's "unfortunate." He acknowledged there are a shortgage of rinks in the city, but said the problem should be addressed on a regional basis.

"We've identified in our recreation master plan the addition of another rink, but I think ... the economics are rather difficult of doing that. I think what we really need to do is look at a larger type of complex."

Such a facility could have three or four ice surfaces, plus commercial development, Breen suggested. "We need to look at what we're going to do in the future in this regard. There's a lot of demand for (minor) hockey and for figure skating and for recreational hockey."

But he noted it's not just the city's responsibility, and suggested the provincial government has a role to play as well.

It's unclear how long St. Bon's will be closed.