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[Oct 30, 2008 04:29 PM]

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July 16, 2008

Civic union calls on City of Regina to reject plan to close indoor rinks

The union representing City of Regina recreational workers urged the city today to reject a recommendation from a consultant’s report calling for the closure of up to four indoor city arenas.

“There is more than enough demand for ice time in Regina to warrant keeping all eight city arenas open, even with the addition of six new arenas at IPSCO Place in 2009,” says Tim Anderson, president of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, Local 21. “Many minor hockey teams currently have to travel 80 to 100 kilometres outside of Regina just to access ice time for practices.”

The Recreation Facility Strategy to 2020 report, prepared by Professional Environmental Recreation Consultants Ltd., will be presented to the Parks and Community Services Committee at 4:00 p.m. today.

The report recommends closing three city arenas initially and “possibly an additional one if ice users continue to decline.” The arenas targeted for closure would include the Optimist and Kinsmen, and likely the Hamilton and Mahon arenas. The consultant’s report further recommends that the city negotiate an operating agreement with Although there will be a net increase of one to two rinks in Regina, Anderson points out that the IPSCO Place multi-purpose arenas will be unavailable for hockey, ringette, skating and other ice sports for two to three weeks in November during Agribition.

“Agribition is only the tip of the iceberg though,” he says. “The overarching objective of

Anderson also points out that the city would lose over $600,000 in annual revenues if it was to close the four indoor arenas. It may also need to subsidize user fees at

“It’s unfortunate that the City of Regina decided to provide $20 million in debt-financing towards the IPSCO Place arena complex, with no strings attached, instead of exploring more affordable options such as upgrading and twinning existing city arenas,” he says. “However, we hope the city doesn’t compound this mistake by closing city arenas, when user groups are clearly stating that there is a much greater demand for ice time – ice time that won’t be available from communities surrounding Regina and won’t be available from The union is urging the city to enact a five-year moratorium on any decision to close indoor city arenas so that a study can be undertaken to assess the ability of

The union is also urging the city to reject recommendations in the consultant’s report that could see the closure of the Regent Park Par 3 Golf Course, the Pasqua Neighbourhood Centre and the Dewdney and Maple Leaf outdoor swimming pools, which serve low-income neighbourhoods.

On the other hand, Anderson said that the consultant’s report does include some positive recommendations that the civic union can support, such as the completion of a major trail network, upgrades to leisure centres, a new neighbourhood centre in the Core Area, and an expansion of the Neil Balkwill Civic Arts Centre.

Following today’s meeting, the city administration will review the consultant’s recommendations and develop a response and implementation plan prior to the end of the year.

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