After some mixed views, the Richmond Arena, home to local hockey and skating, is being upgraded to be hopefully completed by fall.
That’s according to Warden Lois Landry who says replacing the refrigeration unit and everything under the ice surface is underway.
She shares with us what the engagement was like in Richmond County for the potential of a new facility.
“Where we landed pretty consistently is that nobody wants to be in a community without an arena. That’s something that’s a really important part of the community here, but that also residents expected us to be mindful of costs,” she stated.
To save the estimated $40 million to construct a new facility, Landry says the County opted to spend up to $5 million to retrofit the existing arena.
Along with the new refrigeration system, she says they have a roof monitoring system, and an extensive engineering consultation showed the Richmond Arena is in remarkably good shape.
“For me, it’s really about making sure that we are balancing an opportunity to grow our recreation opportunities for folks, but then to balance that against what it would cost residents to expand too quickly,” she shared.
Landry says as Richmond County grows, she’s hopeful a tax increase will cover the cost of a future new green energy arena with a gymnasium and art centre.
