Four Norfolk arenas to get $7 million in change room upgrades

Four Norfolk County arenas will soon be getting expanded change rooms at a cost of just over $7 million.

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At a council-in-committee meeting on Jan. 16, councilors approved a staff recommendation to award the contract to Gen-Pro/1320376 Ontario Ltd., the lowest of two bidders for the project, at $7,005,000.

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Dressing room upgrades at the Delhi Community Center Arena, Port Dover Arena and Langton Arena will be completed during the ice off-season, from April 1 to Sept. 1. Work will be done at Tricenturena in Waterford between Sept. 1 and Dec. 31 .

“There is expected to be minimal to no disruption with the programming,” said Bill Cridland, general manager of operations. “There may be the odd day when hydro or water has to be shut off.”

The upgrades will make the change rooms fully accessible with the addition of gender-neutral change areas. The renovations are being made to meet Hockey Canada’s new guideline requirements to improve hockey player development.

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“We don’t have a lot of dressing room space and there have been some changes in minor hockey over the years,” Cridland said.

He said players in certain age groups split the ice so there are more teams needing dressing rooms.

Last July, council voted to hold off on the project in light of a significant increase in construction costs. The cost had ballooned to $8.5 million, up from the original cost of $3.3 million. The county secured a $2.4 million federal government grant to help cover the original cost. Councilors agreed to revisit the project during 2024 capital budget deliberations.

Cridland said deciding to put the project on hold for a year resulting in the price dropping by more than $1 million.

“I’m not sure if post-COVID times are straightening out,” he said. “It leads us in the right direction, although we’re getting other tenders that are still priced quite high.”

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Coun. Alan Duthie questioned why Talbot Gardens Arena in Simcoe wasn’t included in the renovation plans.

Cridland said there was limited federal/provincial grant money available through the Investing in Canada infrastructure plan, and it didn’t seem at the time there was “as dire a need” for dressing room expansion at Talbot as the other arenas. But, Cridland said, Norfolk staff is always looking for more grant money.

“At budget I was hesitant to put money towards this because it was such a big allocation,” said Mayor Amy Martin. “But I couldn’t leave any provincial or federal money on the table. Staff hit the nail on the head with waiting. I look forward to new and improved services at our arenas.”

Funding will come for the issuance of debentures at a cost of not more than $5,861,000 for a period not to exceed 20 years.

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