Safety concerns force city to close East Kildonan arena for extensive repairs

Structural problems forced the city to suddenly close an east Winnipeg arena Wednesday, leaving hockey teams and other users scrambling to find vacant ice just weeks into their seasons.

City community services chair Coun. Vivian Santos said staff told her that internal deterioration of “glulam” — glued, laminated wood — beams was discovered at Terry Sawchuk Arena.

“The beams were found to be hollow,” Santos said. “It’s uncommon, but it does present a concern.”

She said the city is looking at the remediation work that is required, the cost and a timeline to reopen the arena. The city’s website said the temporary closure is expected to last until Dec. 31, which Santos described as an early estimate.

After receiving an explanation from city staff, she understood the structural issues were a “one-off” and unexpected.

Some hockey teams fear the closure of the East Kildonan arena, at 901 Kimberly Ave., could stretch into 2026, depending on the extent of repairs that are required, and given a season-long closure happened six years ago.

“Right now, they’re saying the month of December, but I wouldn’t be surprised if goes (longer),” said Barry Bonni, general manager of the Manitoba Major Junior Hockey League’s River East Royal Knights, who are based at the arena.

He was left wondering if the structural problems could have been detected sooner and the in-season closure avoided.

“Three months that this rink has been open (this season), and now they discover this,” Bonni said.

“Three months that this rink has been open (this season), and now they discover this.”

He said the rink opened later than usual this season due to maintenance work, forcing the Royal Knights to hold their September training camp elsewhere.

The team’s next four home games will be split between three different arenas. Bonni said the club will scramble to find ice times elsewhere for practices.

River East Minor Hockey Association had almost 60 ice times booked between Wednesday and Dec. 31.

“I was pretty shocked (by the closure) because we do have a lot of programming at Terry Sawchuk,” REMHA president Cory Cockriell said.

“It’s unfortunate, obviously, but this is an older building. It needs some maintenance done to it, and hopefully they can get that done quickly and we can move on with our original programs.”

In the meantime, REMHA is looking for ice times elsewhere to avoid cancellations.

“Ice is very hard to come by these days. Everything has probably been allocated already,” Cockriell said, noting some practices could be held at outdoor rinks once ice is ready.

“Ice is very hard to come by these days. Everything has probably been allocated already.”

Elmwood-East Kildonan Coun. Emma Durand-Wood said staff told her the problem is not related to the facility’s age.

She was told more than 80 ice bookings need to be rescheduled to other venues.

“The closure is definitely really disruptive for everybody, but we have to always be thinking about safety,” Durand-Wood said.

City spokesman Kalen Qually said the “unexpected and significant” structural issue was discovered during a restoration project.

“The issue presents enough concern that we immediately closed the facility out of an abundance of caution,” he wrote in an email to the Free Press.

“We understand this is disruptive to arena users and are working hard to reopen the facility as soon as it is safe. We are in the process of contacting all rental groups to help relocate ice time, wherever possible.”

In 2022, council approved $8 million in provincial money to pay for repairs and maintenance at city arenas. Each arena has or will undergo at least $100,000 in upgrades during the ongoing program.

A new ice plant control system, score clock and lights were installed at Terry Sawchuk Arena named after National Hockey League goaltender Terry Sawchuk, a Hall of Famer who was from Winnipeg. It was built as a garbage incinerator in 1961 and retrofitted into a rink — named Kimberly Arena, but known to many as “Incinarena” — in the early 1970s.

The city closed the facility for the entire 2019-20 season after mould was found in the ceiling during summer maintenance. Bonni said it was initially expected to be a temporary closure before it was extended.

Wednesday’s closure happened while the season ramps up for hockey, figure skating and other winter sports. Public skating sessions are suspended until further notice.

Santos, the councillor for Point Douglas, said the timing of the arena’s closure is unfortunate.

She said arena building assessments are a priority and “always ongoing.”

“We’re doing the best we can to invest in and ensure that our aging buildings get the care that they need,” she said.

Some swimming pools recently underwent or are undergoing months- or year-long closures for extensive renovations. The St. James Civic Centre is expected to be closed until fall 2026, although the Ab McDonald Arena, which is part of the complex, is open during renovations.

chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca