EDMONTON – The roof of a decades-old arena in Sylvan Lake collapsed early Monday morning.
“There are a lot of heartbroken people in Sylvan Lake today,” said Mayor Sean McIntyre. “We’ve had an icon, a landmark in our community collapse.”
Two sections of the old Quonset-style structure caved in around 12:30 a.m. Monday.
One person was inside at the time, but escaped without injury.
“We had one operator left inside the Sylvan Lake arena when the roof started to collapse,”said Ron Lebsack, director of community services.
A male employee at the rink was reportedly inside, heard some cracks, and ran out of the building.
“It was probably 10 minutes before the entire thing came down,” added Lebsack. “He’s a little shaken, but he’s doing OK.”
Fire crews arrived on scene at approximately 12:55 a.m. but most of the damage had already been done.
“Awestruck,” said Lebsack, when asked to describe his reaction to the collapse. “When you see it… It blew out the whole east end of the building as well.”
He believes the building is more than 60-years-old.
The town believes the large amount of accumulated snow led to the roof collapse, but is waiting for the official determination from a structural engineer.
“That would be our gut reaction – would be the snow – but too early to confirm anything for sure.”
Town officials are also seeking direction from the engineer regarding a neighbouring building. A fairly new multiplex is next to the arena, and the town is concerned further collapse could damage the nearby multiplex.
“We were still hoping to get another two years out of this building,” Lebsack said about the Sylvan Lake arena.
The town is working on a new, larger recreation and leisure complex, but Lebsack said it’s still a few years away from being completed.
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