More upgrades eyed at Progressive Auto Sales Arena

Sarnia Sting players have been very familiar with the Zamboni area at their home rink over the years.

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Up until a new $2.5-million Sting dressing room at Progressive Auto Sales Arena was built in the OHL team’s former office space, players and team personnel regularly would cross behind the doors at the rink’s southern end, said Sting vice-president of business operations Jake Bourrie.

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The dressing room was on the east side of the rink, the gym and offices were on the west. Now, everything is in one spot in the southwest corner, so crossing isn’t necessary, Bourrie said.

But, because there’s no ice access from that corner, players have been getting on and off the ice through the Zamboni doors, “which is very unusual and has some safety concerns, as you can probably imagine,” he said.

Sarnia city council recently approved $25,000 for preliminary drawings for a potential fix.

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The idea is to take out “a small section” of seats and create a tunnel-like access point between the ice and the new dressing room the team started using around last spring’s playoff run, city facilities manager Tom Burnard said.

“It would be 30 feet to the rink, as opposed to them walking all the way around,” he said, noting similar seat carve-outs already exist in other corners of the rink, and the idea came out of weekly discussions he has with Sting management.

Hopes are to have a report back to council in April with more cost details and project specifics, he said, noting architectural firm Tillman, Ruth, Robinson is handling the drawings.

City community services general manager Stacey Forfar said any potential investments would likely happen in 2025.

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“We would more than likely refer it to capital for next year,” she told council recently, before council voted in favor of freeing up capital reserve funds.

Couns. Terry Burrell and Chrissy McRoberts were opposed.

Sarnia chipped in $600,000 for the Sting dressing room costs in 2019, and loaned the team another $1.6 million in 2022 for the project.

The Sting’s former dressing room space, meanwhile, is being converted into a new gender-neutral dressing room.

That project, originally budgeted for about $300,000 in 2019, and increased to $700,000 three years later, was stalled by COVID-19 and waiting for the new Sting changing room project to finish, Burnard said.

“Unfortunately like all projects post-COVID, inflation and construction costs rose significantly,” he said, adding the project means giving “safe, appropriate space” for women and girls to change when using the rink.

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Council earlier this month tabled a request for another $170,000 for that project, pending more background information.

“We do have concerns that once we start to open the walls up, just like any other building renovations, that there will be requirements for additional capital,” Forfar said about the contingency funding request.

That project also includes upgrades to the dressing room for visiting OHL teams, Burnard said, noting any money not used will go back into capital reserves.

More roof upgrade work, replacing arena boards and glass, elevator upgrades, and a refrigeration plant replacement are also on the to-do list for the 1998-built arena this year. There’s $1.8 million in the city’s capital budget for that work.

“Hats off to the city and their management team,” Bourrie said about those and other investments.

“A common phrase we use is ensuring this is a crown jewel of the city,” he said about the arena.

“We look forward to continuing to work with the city to achieve that goal.”

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