Glace Bay's Bayplex needs at least $10M in repairs, says municipality

A municipal staffreport says it will cost close to $10 million to expand and upgrade the Bayplexin Glace Bay, N.S.,but it would cost more than twice that to replace the facility.

The 21-year-old rink had been running an operating deficit and was falling into disrepair under the management of the Glace Bay Recreation Society, a non-profit community group, and was taken over by the municipality last year.

Mayor Cecil Clarke said the estimate is about what was expected.

"We know that repairing and retrofitting the facility is much less than a replacement and that the people of Glace Bay and area require a rink, an arena and other supporting infrastructure," he said.

Needed upgrades

The facility's list of needed upgradesincludea new roof and repairs to its geothermal heating system.

"It includes extending the ice surface by 15 feetto regulation-size ice and it will change everything from lighting, the geothermal ventilation, the dehumidification, new ice plant, new controls, snow melt pit, and then there are the landscape, parking area and players benches," said Clarke.

Construction timeline

He said it will take two construction seasons to complete the work, with a projected reopening in the fall of 2019.

The Bayplex has been closed since the summer. As a result,the Glace Bay minor hockey program was moved to the Canada Games Complex at Cape Breton University.

The staff report, which includes an engineering study, will be presented to council next month during budget deliberations.

If approved, the municipality will apply to the federal and provincial governments for two-thirds of the funding.