Bracebridge residents petition to save old Memorial Arena
Bracebridge residents are hoping to keep their old hockey rink.
The Town plans to demolish the 75-year-old Bracebridge Memorial Arena as soon as their new 113,000-square-foot Muskoka Lumber Community Centre is built.
But members of the local hockey and skating communities are hoping that enough pushback will convince the city to keep both rinks.
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"It's such a nice barn," said Noel Hogan, a hockey parent attending a U-13 game Sunday afternoon. "They don't make arenas like this anymore."
"I think it's crazy to tear down this rink," said another hockey parent. "It's part of the community."
An online petition has been started by local minor hockey coach Chris Ledsham in an attempt to dissuade the Town from demolishing the old arena. The petition had over 530 signatures as of Sunday.
"If we speak up now and have our say, we have an opportunity to change the course before the building is knocked down," said Ledsham.
Even with the construction of the new Muskoka Lumber Community Centre, there is still concern that ice will be difficult to come by with only one rink to fill the growing recreational needs of the Town.
"A lot of user groups look for extra ice because they can't get it in Bracebridge," Ledsham added. "I've travelled as far as Humphrey or Orillia for ice, which is a far way to go!"
On the other hand, Deputy Mayor Brenda Rhodes believes it would be unfeasible to maintain both the new and old rinks, especially if there is a surplus of ice available.
"To run both buildings would add an additional cost of about $400,000 per year," estimated Rhodes. "When you look at that and running a facility that's not running at its fullest capacity then that causes a problem."
Meanwhile, Ledsham plans to present his petition to the council at the end of February.
"Once we have enough names on the petition, we're going to take this to council and have the town take us seriously," he said.
The Town of Bracebridge plans to demolish the Memorial Arena in late spring if they decide to do so.
The new arena and recreation centre are scheduled to be completed by the summer and is expected to be fully operational next year.
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