Charlottetown's long-awaited Simmons Sports Centre finally opens to the public
Unexpected leak in new rink's ice-making system pushed opening back from Oct. 14
Skates are finally able to hit the ice surface at Charlottetown's new Simmons Sports Centre.
With work to repair a leak in the arena's ice-making infrastructure now complete, the city opened the new building to the public at 3 p.m. Monday.
The $36-million sports centre will be open year-round, and features an NHL-sized rink with seating for around 600 people, an indoor walking track, meeting rooms and an outdoor swimming pool that will open next summer.
The building was originally set to open Oct. 14. The city pushed that back indefinitely to allow contractors to find and repair a leak in the pipes within the arena's concrete ice surface slab, which meant staff couldn't make ice.
Techniques like thermal imaging were used to narrow down the exact location of the leaking pipe, a process that Charlottetown Coun. Mitchell Tweel said took more than two weeks.
Frank Quinn, Charlottetown's parks and recreation manager, said the complex network of piping underneath the concrete made finding the source challenging.
"There [is] 18 kilometres of piping on the floor and we couldn't damage any of that piping to try to find the leak," Quinn said.
"When we had a good idea of where it was, it took a time to actually expose the leak… Then they had to come up with the best repair options."
City officials have said the repair work was covered under warranty, so Charlottetown taxpayers will not be on the hook for those costs.
'New frontier for recreation'
The new complex replaces the original Simmons Sports Centre, which was built more than 50 years ago. That structure, which sat next to the new facility on North River Road, was demolished earlier this year.
When the old rink was scheduled to be replaced, the current location on North River Road was not the only choice for the new centre. Residents effectively lobbied to have the new building constructed next to the old one.
Naming rights for the centre also became an issue.
When it finally got the go-ahead, construction was delayed a year due to supply chain issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Tweel, who chairs the city's parks, recreation and leisure committee, said residents will be pleased with the new facility.
"This is truly a landmark, it's a legacy, and I would suggest even a new frontier for recreation in the city of Charlottetown," he said.
The latest delay in October led to frustration and schedule disruptions for some sport groups that rely on ice time at Simmons.
The Charlottetown Ringette Association is scheduled to host a major tournament at the new centre in January, while about 60 per cent of the Charlottetown Minor Hockey Association's teams will have about 60 per cent of their weekly ice time at Simmons.
The new complex also includes infrastructure to expand to two ice pads should the demand be there, said Charlottetown Mayor Philip Brown.
"If any of the ice sports continue to rise in popularity… we will be able to add that second arena," Brown said.
"This will bring on new emotions, new feelings, new sentiments for generations going forward."
With files from Connor Lamont