Chemmy arena facelift enters Phase 2

While Sudbury Arena is a project for the next term of a new city council, renovations of Chelmsford Arena entered a new phase this week.

The city awarded the contract for Phase 2 of the work – the actual construction -- to Prosperi Co. Ltd., the lowest bidder at $1,999,900.

The architect, staff and the winning contractor all met at the gutted arena last week as rebuilding is set to begin in earnest. The rink is scheduled to reopen next fall.

“We're on time and on budget,” said Real Carre, the city's director of leisure services. “The tenders came very close to what we had estimated. So we're working with a $2.4-million budget.”

It's just a large gravel pit now, but once complete, the ice surface will be relocated to one side, instead of the middle of the room.

“The players' benches and the penalty boxes will be shifted to one side – similar to the second ice pad in Countryside,” he said. “We're following the building practices of today, where you eliminate having spectators behind the benches and penalty boxes.”

All bleachers will be moved to the opposite side of the rink, meaning it will seat about 400 – half the capacity of the old rink. Carre said that's the trend in arena building – separating players from spectators, and reducing seating.

“That's about the norm today for newer arenas,” he said. “I mean, we're not talking OHL facilities -- we're talking about a community rink.”

There will be a larger area between the glass and seats to accommodate people with physical disabilities, whose needs will be built in to the facility.

“In our older rinks, staff try and put in ramps to allow for that,” he said. “But this project gave us an opportunity to build accessibility right into the construction of the main rink. So anybody with physical disabilities can go right up there and be part of the spectator experience.”

Measures were also taken to address the buildup of permafrost under the ice – a growing problem with old rinks. New insulation and in-floor heating will address those issues.

“That's built up over a lot of years – remember, that's a 1969 building,” he said.

“That's stuff you won't see, of course, when you get on the ice, but it's critical to the project. It's like laying the proper foundation for a house.”

Other features will include new energy efficient lights, added dressing rooms to accommodate co-ed sports, a multipurpose room, a family washroom and, of course, the whole place will be repainted.

“By having that extra dressing room, it will eliminate any issues surrounding females and males playing on the same team,” Carre said. “So no one will have to change in the First Aid room or an office somewhere.”

With hockey season almost underway, many teams that normally play in Chelmsford will go to the underused I.J. Coady Arena in Levack. However, Carre said not all groups are willing to travel that far for ice time.

“That's what our manager of arenas and our ice allocation group have been focused on, but we have yet to finalize exactly how many groups will go there,” he said.

“Some groups will not necessarily be willing to do that long trip and will try and work within the existing ice time that they've got. So it's a combination – some are more willing to (go to Levack) than others.”