Saint John rinks on thin ice as city looks to cut costs
CBC News | Posted: December 31, 2014 12:33 PM | Last Updated: December 31, 2014
City manager says 6 rinks too many, but hockey parents disagree
Saint John hockey coaches and parents are bracing for what could be a scramble for ice time.
City manager Pat Woods suggested during recent budget discussions that the cash-strapped municipality should take a serious look at closing one of its arenas.
Saint John currently has six arenas, including Harbour Station. But given the city's demographics, it should probably have only five, Woods told council, noting staff members have started an analysis.
Parent Peter Adams is dismayed. He contends it's already too difficult to get ice time.
"I don't think we can afford that in Saint John," Adams told CBC News during a youth hockey practice at the Hilton Belyea arena on Tuesday.
"I find the number of hockey players for minor hockey is growing. And we would have to resort to shared ice time and early morning practices in order to do that," he said.
Tony White, also a hockey parent, agrees. "It's hard enough to get ice time now. And even the men's hockey leagues, they've been switched to like 11 o'clock at night just because there's not enough ice time to go around. There's a huge demand."
We're going into the new year with a deficit of $1.5 million, we've got to do something. - Coun. Gerry Lowe
A recreation report prepared by city staff earlier in the year, however, states the city has far more rinks than the established standards of one per 20,000 people — about one for every 11,677 residents, based on the 2011 population of 70,063.
"Unfortunately, this high level of service requires levels of funding and maintenance and new capital far beyond the city's financial capacity," the PlaySJ report states.
"Consequently, the inability to properly support this arena infrastructure has resulted in an obsolete or poorly maintained system of arenas."
City Coun. Gerry Lowe says given the city's difficult fiscal situation, everyone will have to make sacrifices.
"Something's going to happen. We're going into the new year with a deficit of $1.5 million, we've got to do something," he said.
"We're going to have to go through hard times. Things are going to be tough next year."
Although money has already been allocated to operate all of the city's rinks in 2015, what will happen the following year is less clear.