Community dreaming big for plans to replace decades-old rink in Spryfield

Finding ice time at the Spryfield Lions Rink has never been more difficult for the Chebucto Minor Hockey Association.

The decades-old arena is booked up every night, forcing players, coaches and parents to drive as far as Chester to practice.

But the players may be in luck. Halifax Regional Municipality plans to double its rink capacity, and a new project is set to finish by 2027.

If all goes according to plan, the Lions Rink will be demolished, and a new facility will open on the same lot, complete with a park, two ice pads and a gymnasium.

“What would fit our needs as a minor hockey association would be a two-rink facility with appropriate meeting space and tangential businesses like skate sharpening and a canteen,” said Bryan Esbaugh, the Chebucto Minor Hockey Association’s president.

“(We’ll have) adequate space so we can host tournaments and events outside of hockey.”

Registration for the club has increased in recent years, with a decrease in city allotment. Esbaugh hopes the association will be able to find more time, which would cut down on travel.

Esbaugh cites a growing community in Spryfield that has grown around its arena.

In the late 1960s, the Lions Club began working to create an arena for the community. The campaign began with the group fielding donations so kids could play hockey in their hometown. Walk-a-thons and donations through the club opened the rink in the early 1970s, where it now sits as one of the oldest active arenas in the municipality.

“The community has a sense of ownership,” the Spryfield Lions Rink chair, Peter Mowat, told Global News on Tuesday.

“It’s heading toward the end of its life, and HRM has put significant money into it.”

Since the municipality took ownership of the facility in 2009, roofing, structural and even fire damage have all cost the municipality millions to keep it going.

HRM invested tens of thousands in roofing repairs to keep it afloat nearly three years ago.

For District 11 Coun. Patty Cuttell, the day is due for the arena, which she said has significant value for the growing population in Spryfield.

She said the municipality would have to decide whether to keep the existing arena open while it builds the new ice or simply start from scratch.

“What happens to it now? It will be demolished eventually,” she told Global News.

“Once we figure out the internal programming, that will help define the design, and we can help situate it on this lot. There is a hope we can build it and keep it open at the same time.

“But our priority should be making sure (the new arena) can be the best it can be.”

Community engagement has already started for the project, as the municipality will soon look at what designs could look like for the facility.