OTTAWA – The federal government’s budget unveiled on Thursday promises $750 million to build and renovate ice rinks across the country, but there are questions about how the money will be distributed and which arenas would qualify.
“Infrastructure right across the country is aging dramatically and we really need this money to try and upgrade some facilities and build new facilities,” said Jeff Baker, the director of operations for Hockey Eastern Ontario. “Ice allocation is getting harder and harder and harder every year.”
Baker said the federal investment could eventually lower costs for families and while all municipalities could benefit, he pointed to some facilities in rural Saskatchewan that still have natural ice that could really use the funds.
“Being able to retrofit those facilities with artificial ice would help them stay longer, open up sooner,” Baker said. “[It] just creates more availability of ice time for more for all involved and it’s not just hockey… it affects other sports too; figure staking, speed skating and so on.”
Player perspective
Marissa Cowling grew up playing hockey in rinks across Ontario.
She plays for the Toronto Jr. Aeros and was in Ottawa to take on a team from the capital at the Richcraft Sensplex in the city’s east end on Sunday.
“It’s really fun to come into a rink that’s nice and big and you just get good feels when you’re on the ice as well,” Cowling said.
But not all facilities are as modern and well maintained.
“When the boards aren’t kept nice and benches and things like that, we see a lot of injuries with our sticks getting caught in them and stuff like that,” she said of some of the other rinks she’s played in.
At Bernard Grandmaître Arena in Ottawa, players and parents have long complained about the lack of hot water and heat in the stands.
“When you get on the ice it’s a little bit warmer but in the stands, I know it’s freezing cold,” said Louis Brammall, 11, after stepping off the ice.
“We find it really nice when there’s food, accessibility, warmth,” said parent Ania Hejnar. “These are the [arenas] we grew up in, but that was a long time ago. Considering we have so many young hockey players I’m pretty surprised that we haven’t been able to keep up with the trends of the newer arenas… so, it is quite nice to have the idea of this one being remodelled so we can all enjoy it like we do the other ones.”
Many arenas also don’t meet accessibility standards or have small dressing rooms or not enough of them, forcing some teams to share.
“We’re making tough decisions as municipalities across the country, do you keep them on, do you tear it down? This will give that opportunity for life in this building in not shutting down arenas,” said Tim Tierney, the president of the Federation of Canadian Municipalities.
Ice time across Canada is at a premium with costs to match, said Sophia Dore, an assistant coach with the East Ottawa Stars who has seen the price steadily increase over the years, along with fees and equipment costs.
“Honestly, it can be almost $1,500 depending on time and location,” she said of ice rentals.
Dore said anything that could help bring costs down would be helpful for players and parents.
“The game is growing so much, for women notably, and just around different communities. Financial aid would definitely be very powerful and allow more communities to be involved and it’s definitely a great, great thing.”
The line in the budget states the investment would “support the construction, expansion, retrofit, and rehabilitation of community recreational facilities and ice rinks across Canada.”
In addition to the $750 million allocated for ice rinks, there would be $750 million in additional funding for other community recreational facilities.
The funding would be spread over nine years.
