The banners are coming down and furniture is on its way out the door at the Bayplex in Glace Bay, N.S., after the Cape Breton Regional Municipality deemed it too expensive to maintain the facility.
Mould, leaks in the ceiling and tons of other issues are keeping the 20-year-old building from running. The municipality believes renovations could cost upwards of $8 million.
With such a high price tag, there's a divide in the community on whether government officials should repair or rebuild.
“It's very important to the community. We need this place. We need it,” says resident Eileen Macintyre.
If renovations exceed $10 million, CBRM Mayor Cecil Clarke says they would then have to look at whether the repair project is feasible or if a new rink should be built.
“We just need to have the hard numbers and to get it right the first time through,” Clarke says. “As we get that information and we go forward, we will also be looking at any of the modifications required to the building.”
With just weeks to go before hockey teams hit the ice, Glace Bay Minor Hockey officials are busy moving into their new temporary homes in Dominion, N.S., and at Cape Breton University.
“(Tuesday) morning the CBRM sent two trucks, a trailer and a flatbed truck and 10 men to move our office,” says James Edwards, president of Cape Breton Minor Hockey. “What we're basically doing is making the best of a situation where we get short term pain for long term gain.”
Edwards says the association needed to have a plan in place this week in order to protect their highly popular 50/50 draw, which starts in September and is vital part of minor hockey.
“It keeps our costs in check. It makes playing hockey for the kids and parents very affordable,” Edwards says.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Kyle Moore.
