Elliot Lake arena may not re-open until the fall of 2025
After being closed for more than a year, city was hoping to re-open the arena in January
Skaters in Elliot Lake could be facing another full winter without home ice to skate on.
The city council in the community of 11,000 will receive a report Wednesday night, detailing how there are further delays in the renovations to the 56-year-old Centennial Arena.
It was suddenly shut down in September 2023 out of fears the roof could collapse, forcing hockey players and figure skaters to drive about 45 minutes to every game or practice in the nearby towns of Massey and Blind River.
And now city staff are recommending that the rink, which was recently re-named the Rogers Arena, remain closed until the fall of 2025.
"Structural repairs at Rogers Arena have been underway since the spring of 2024," the report states.
"During this period, the project's scope has evolved considerably due to new findings regarding the condition of the arena's foundation system, partially concerning the existing geotechnical site conditions."
The report says that "major delays in the project thus far has been related to relatively poor soil conditions that the arena was originally built upon."
"This situation is frustrating in that the soil conditions and foundation system deficiencies were not apparent/not obvious at the beginning of the project. Visual inspection of the facility does not reveal the typical signs associated with subsidence, and staff and the design team were truly only alerted to the issue during the spring thaw of 2024," the report states.
"Additional costs' expected
The report also outlines ongoing problems with doing electrical work at the Elliot Lake arena which "requires improving the install to modern code requirements, which entails changing the main disconnection for the building."
City staff say they anticipate getting the equipment they need for the removal of a hydro pole within six to eight weeks, that will "allow for structural repairs to continue in that area of the arena,"
"It is this logistical challenge that is the basis upon which staff recommends the opening of the arena be postponed indefinitely, and a new target goal for reopening be set for the 2025-2026 season," the report to Elliot Lake city council reads.
As for the cost of the ongoing renovations, the report says it has yet to be determined, but "staff acknowledges that several of the above work items will carry additional costs to the project relative to what has already been approved by council."
The report adds that staff will return to council for approvals once the final costs are known, early in the new year.
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