City looks to rent arena dehumidifiers to prevent fog-outs

At a committee meeting in October 2013, former arena manager Ray Mensour said fog had caused problems before, but not to that extent.

“I don't know if it's global warming," he said, when asked why the fog was so bad this year. “But it's not unusual. We have fog (in the arena) every fall … But we've never had to cancel a game before.”

After the game was cancelled, staff consulted with engineers, who said the only way to ensure it wouldn't happen again was to install two dehumidifiers.

“Based on the seating capacity at the Sudbury Community Arena, the engineer recommended that the facility would require two 10,000-cubic-feet-per-minute, gas-fired dehumidifiers,” Mensour wrote in his report on the issue. “The recommended units were recently installed at the Windsor Arena and old Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto.”

But city councillors balked at the idea of spending as much as $800,000 to buy and install permanent dehumidifiers, especially when the rink could be replaced in the coming years.

So the tender was issued with a deadline of Sept. 9, and the bids ranged from $89,500 to $131,032. The bids will have to be reviewed before the contract is issued. The Wolves open their season at home Sept. 26 versus the Niagara IceDogs.