Managers of an arena in Bedford, N.S. say they are disgusted after the property was vandalized on the weekend.
Vandals cut more than two dozen holes in the inflatable dome and sprayed graffiti on the exterior. The Rocky Lake Dome is used as an arena, but the recent damages could temporarily shut it down.
“Three-foot slashes from the back right to the front,” says Jamie Straughan, an engineer for the Rocky Lake Dome. “It’s a days’ worth of work to repair it and it’s time and money.”
The dome was slashed more than two dozen times, but only one of the slashes managed to break through the two pieces of tarp, leaving a large hole in the dome.
“It doesn’t destroy the integrity of the dome, but it sure destroys the look of the dome,” says manager Gary Hines.
“You put a patch over the slashes, so it’s not good,” says Straughan. “It’s more cosmetic. It looks ugly.”
The patchwork is expected to cost upwards of $5,000, which could result in an increase in membership prices in order to cover the repairs.
Kim Powell of the Sackville Lacrosse Association says the dome is invaluable to the local lacrosse and hockey community and the vandalism is discouraging to all the young players who use the facility.
"If it’s damaged too much, the rink won’t be usable for a time, which makes it difficult because it’s so hard to get ice time and rink time," says Powell.
“Now that the dome’s been here, it’s constantly booked for lacrosse time. We have to use outdoor fields and stuff to get practices in just because we can’t get time booked at the dome.”
This isn’t the first time the dome’s exterior has been damaged. In 2010, someone cut two large holes – big enough for a person to fit through - into the dome’s membrane.
Venue operators say the latest act of vandalism was the last straw; they plan to install security cameras this week.
“Probably $10,000 to $15,000 by the time we put the security system in,” says Hines.
They are hoping the cameras will discourage vandals in the future, so their revenue can be put towards renovations to the facility, rather than patchwork repairs.
With files from CTV Atlantic's Amanda Debison
