Community fights to save arena in Mindemoya as council reviews options

Faith Greco · CBC News

· Posted: Apr 01, 2025 6:22 AM EDT | Last Updated: 9 minutes ago

The aboriginal of the J.H. Burt Memorial arena successful Mindemoya connected Manitoulin Island remains uncertain arsenic the municipality evaluates repair options for the rink, which has served the assemblage for implicit 70 years.

While the main gathering remains stable, Central Manitoulin Mayor Richard Stevens says the arena's much caller hold is structurally compromised, with its extracurricular partition failing.

"We ended up getting a mates of dense snowfalls and unit noticed that the extracurricular partition wherever the hold is, was buckling," Stevens said. 

Engineers were called to measure the arena and deemed it unsafe for use. 

Stevens said the municipality is preparing a broad reappraisal of each recreational facilities, including the arena, to find priorities for upgrades and repairs. 

An interim study to find the astir cost-effective solution is expected wrong a month, and the arena's aboriginal is apt to beryllium discussed astatine the adjacent assembly gathering connected April 8.

"It'll beryllium similar immoderate different cost-benefit relationship," Stevens said. "You've got to measurement the benefits you're going to get retired of repairing thing that is 70 oregon 80 years old, versus redeeming that wealth and putting it into a caller structure."

Community members motorboat fundraiser, petition

Despite the fiscal hurdles, the Mindemoya assemblage is taking action. 

Local nonmigratory Marie Ford says people quickly mobilized to enactment the arena, organizing a pancake supper fundraiser connected April 1.

"When things hap here, everybody gets together," Ford said. "Our extremity is to enactment with our municipality and fundamentally beryllium capable to donate immoderate wealth toward that fix."

While Stevens said helium thinks "it's fantastic" to person assemblage support, "it won't spell precise far."

"When we had the past analysis, we had had a advisor draught up a study for america erstwhile we thought it was clip to look astatine replacing the arena, and the study came successful for astir $15 million," Stevens said. 

Ford, who is besides circulating a petition calling connected assembly to spell up with the repairs, said the arena is much than conscionable a spot for hockey and skating, hosting numerous community events passim the year.

"Our interest was that if the arena doesn't open, we person each kinds of activities successful the summer," she said.

"Men's ball, kids' ball, Special Olympics, nine events, cycling advocates, the summertime marketplace — erstwhile summertime is over, we're backmost into insignificant hockey. If that partition isn't fixed, our kids aren't going to beryllium playing hockey there."

As for whether oregon not the arena volition beryllium acceptable for hockey successful the fall, Stevens said: "I surely anticipation so, and I person nary crushed to judge it won't be."