Nearly two years after it closed because of mould and structural concerns, questions and uncertainty continue to swirl around the only hockey rink left in Glace Bay.
Now, after a lengthy delay, the Cape Breton Regional Municipality says promised repairs will start in June, and that news has a lot of people in the community breathing a sigh of relief.
For many, the building is the centrepiece of the community. But for nearly two years Glace Bay has gone without a recreation facility.
Perhaps no one misses the Bayplex as much as Nick Bonnar.
“I'm there all the time, every day,” said Bonnar. “I love it. It's hard to comprehend not going somewhere you love every day. And I know the kids miss it.”
Bonnar, a referee, coach and community volunteer, has spent many hours at the Bayplex.
He says it's been discouraging seeing the building empty for months, the windows boarded up, and the doors locked, but soon the facility will be busy again, with renovations starting June 24.
“For me, the big question was: is it ever going to happen?” Bonnar said.
Cape Breton Regional Municipality Coun. Darren Bruckswaiger says many in the community had doubts the 22-year-old building would ever reopen, with the project being delayed time and time again.
“Well, it's not the average house repair,” said Bruckswaiger. “There was a lot of issues in the building that needed to be studied. We have I.B. Storey, one of the top people in the country that work on rinks, he had to go through this in detail.”
The project is scheduled to be completed July 1, 2020. The municipality is planning a big celebration, complete with fireworks and music. For many who live in the community, it's a day that can't come soon enough.
“For me it's going to be like having a first born in the family,” said Bonnar. “It will be that close to my heart. It will be a tremendous feeling. I'd probably stand on the roof and start screaming, that's how much I love the building.”
The building will get major roof repairs, a change to regulation-size ice, a new heating system, ice plant, and walking track, among other things.
The retrofit will cost $10 million, with the money coming from all three levels of government.
“The cost to replace this was in the vicinity of $29 million -- to replace what you have here now,” Bruckswaiger said. “So that kind of money just isn't available at our level of government for sure. It wasn't a reality.”
When the Bayplex reopens, it will be renamed the Glace Bay Miners Forum, going back to its roots and to commemorate Cape Breton's rich coal-mining history.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
