Nipissing University is hoping the new city arena will end up next to its College Drive location.
David Drenth, Director of Facilities, suggests the arena be built on the former Laroque Farm property immediately east of the existing campus.
The 75-acre site is already zoned for recreational facility use and is currently planned to include the new 32,000 square foot student centre.
"Nipissing University is committed to helping to develop our community,” said Drenth. "In terms of sports tourism, the facilities that exist at Nipissing are very attractive and include residence rooms in spring and summer months, classroom space for team meetings, clinics and seminars, state of the art gymnasium facilities for off-ice workouts and cafeteria services. It would also be a home for the varsity Lakers to play and for our intramural leagues, as well as academic programming and youth development research. Students could utilize ice frequently during the daytime, which a difficult time for most city rinks to rent ice."
Drenth says there is ease of access to the proposed rink as well, with the location close to major highways and the availability of ample parking.
The university sees multiple ice pads, with the area able to accommodate up to four separate ice surfaces and featuring one larger pad with seating for up to 1,000 people.
“The west end of North Bay has really grown recently, witnessed by the number of new businesses opened on McKeown Avenue. An arena on campus would provide increased traffic to those existing businesses,” said Drenth.
The city would own and operate the facility.
