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A location for new arena still up for debate

'We are going to go out to the public to talk more about what this facility will look like and where it will go.'
memorialgardensparkinglot
Is the large parking lot and fields behind Memorial Gardens the right location for a new twin pad ice facility? Photo by Chris Dawson.

The City knows, and has made it public, that time is running out for the West Ferris arena.  

However, the location of a new ice arena is still very open for debate.  

According to Councillor Mark King, Chair the of the Community Services committee, the project was put on the back-burner due to the Dionne Quints home situation.   

“We are going to go out to the public to talk more about what this facility will look like and where it will go,” stated King.  

“I can tell you in my mind it’s basically a split between Omischl, the existing West Ferris site, and behind Memorial Gardens.” 

It’s no secret the main tenant at the largest arena in town - the North Bay Battalion - would prefer another rink (or rinks), to be built behind Memorial Gardens as a huge central hockey location for the city of North Bay.  

That location would allow both the Lakers and Battalion teams continue to practice nearby on one of the new pads when bigger events come to the city and take over the big pad at Memorial Gardens.   

But that location may not be ideal because of the site conditions behind the Gardens.  King believes the former swamp lands at that Memorial Gardens location may not be ideal for another rink to be built.  

“That whole area used to be swamp there and it was back filled in order to make it what it is today,” said King. 

“So the question is whether or not its conducive to construction or not and then you have to start looking at what are the other opportunities and Omischl looks really good because there is a high point of land that the city owns that would actually support a development like that but there’s always this issue with arenas being close to population and whether or not that’s the right spot for it, so it will be an interesting discussion with what goes on with the public.”  

King says he has met with a number of minor hockey officials about the options.   

However, he believes the next step is town hall meetings.  

“I think from a staff standpoint and a municipal politician responsible for that, we need to to get everybody's input on this thing so we can make the right decision,” said King.  

“This is not going to be easy. I know right now it makes no sense to build a single pad when we know with our experience at West Ferris and the price tag is climbing all the time. I am not sure from a financial standpoint how we are going to be able to do it,” he admits.   

“So it gets very tricky and it’s going to take some time and planning in order to really get the right fit and make absolutely certain that the facility meets the needs of what is transpiring in our city right now.”    

The potential projects architects have given the city until 2019 to make up its mind.  

“We haven’t gotten much time here in my mind to start to get this moving forward and we are tied up with all these other things including the master plan for the lakefront rail lands in the downtown core and at the same time we are dealing with all the other internal pressures that are going on at the city so it’s quite an involved process that’s going on right now and in my mind the arena process one way or another, has to move forward in pretty short order.”


Chris Dawson

About the Author: Chris Dawson

Chris Dawson has been with BayToday.ca since 2004. He has provided up-to-the-minute sports coverage and has become a key member of the BayToday news team.
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