Halifax should shut 3 arenas and study 4th, staff report says

Halifax should close the Gray, Bowles, and Devonshire arenas and possibly the LeBrun Centre after 2018, staff say in a new report to council.

The future of the four arenas has been debated over several years.

Originally, staff recommended closing the four facilties because of plans fornew four-pad arenas.But then the Halifax Regional Municipality lost access to rinks at Dalhousie University and Shannon Park, sparking a rethink.

In the latest report, staff research led them to recommend council run the Gray Arena in Dartmouthfor the 2017-2018 "prime season" while preparing to dispose of the property.

LeBrunusage should be studied

With the Bowles Arena, staff recommend giving the neighbouring property owner a chance to buy the Dartmouth facilityand then disposing of it if they're not interested.

With the Devonshire Arena in Halifax, staff say the city should put aside money to demolish it in the 2018-2019 capital budget. Halifax would keep the property for some other recreation use.

The report says the city should run Bedford's LeBrun Centre at least for the 2017-2018 season and study the usage figures before deciding its future.

Staff should do more analysis of the Halifax Forum project and look at any plans for a new Dalhousie University arena before making final decisions, the report says.

The municipality started its Long-Term Arena Strategyin 2012 to guide planning through to 2022. Its2012 report found "overall use of arenas was declining while several facilities were outdated and in poor condition."

In 2012, HRM had access to 26 ice surfaces six private and 20 public. Dalhousie knocked down its rink, reducing the number to 25, and then the Department of National Defence decided to close Shannon Park, leaving a current total of 24 ice surfaces.

Replacing single pads with multi-pads

The general plan is to replace one-surface rinks with multi-pad arenas. Dartmouth's four-pad is under construction while the municipality has started planning for the big renovation of the Halifax Forum.

People who regularly use Bedford's LeBrun arena argue it should be spared. It is near the four-pad BMO Centre, but staff say that opened in 2010 to "provide net new arena time due to a deficit of ice surfaces," whereas the Dartmouth four-pad was built to replace older arenas.

Council will debate the report Tuesday.