Future of Elliot Lake junior hockey team uncertain as arena continues to be closed for repairs

Faith Greco · CBC News

· Posted: Mar 19, 2025 5:15 AM EDT | Last Updated: 6 minutes ago

The Northern Ontario Junior Hockey League (NOJHL) is successful the process of finalizing its docket for the 2025-2026 season, with 1 cardinal question inactive unresolved: Will the Elliot Lake Vikings beryllium capable to play successful their location arena adjacent season?

According to Robert Mazzuca, commissioner of the NOJHL, the Vikings, who were forced to instrumentality a permission of lack for the 2024-2025 play owed to ongoing repairs to their section arena, are inactive successful limbo.

"It's not conscionable the Vikings. We're talking astir insignificant hockey, we're talking astir fig skating, talking about public skating. A community centre successful a assemblage is simply a important asset," helium said. 

Elliot Lake's Centennial Arena— present renamed Rogers Arena aft a $3 cardinal donation— was abruptly unopen down successful September 2023 retired of fears the extortion could illness and is inactive not acceptable to re-open. 

Mazzuca said helium spoke to a typical of the City of Elliot Lake who said the renovations are expected to beryllium implicit by the extremity of July.

However, respective re-opening dates person travel and gone, arsenic the repairs to the 57-year-old arena person proved much complicated, contempt the metropolis raising millions to screen the costs, including $250,000 successful prize wealth from the 2024 Kraft Hockeyville contest. 

"Timelines present for a wide assortment of reasons, unfortunately, haven't been met and no fault to the municipality oregon the assemblage oregon the facility," Mazzuca said.

"Certain things person cropped up, and they've had to set and readjust the repairs that are required."

The hold continues to make uncertainty for the Vikings, whose players were released from their contracts mid-season erstwhile the squad took a permission of absence. 

"The immense bulk of the players did find a spot to play. So they're essentially, if they're going to program connected coming back, they're starting from scratch," Mazzuca said. 

He explained the squad has a "tall order" and would person to implicit afloat recruitment, scouting and improvement successful July, a process typically completed a afloat twelvemonth up of a play and made adjacent much hard with the uncertainty surrounding the team's future. 

"That's wherefore it's important that we person immoderate assurances and guarantees going forward, due to the fact that it puts it puts the Elliot Lake Vikings astatine a important disadvantage," Mazzuca said.

While the anticipation is that the Vikings' arena volition beryllium acceptable by July, Mazzuca explained that the league is preparing 2 scenarios: 1 with 12 teams and different with 11, successful lawsuit Elliot Lake cannot tract a squad adjacent season.

Mazzuca added that a determination volition apt beryllium made by the extremity of April.

CBC requested remark from the Vikings hockey nine and the City of Elliot Lake and didn't get a response.