A city staff report suggests that the days of the Stoney Creek arena being the home to minor hockey are numbered. The arena, built in the 1960’s has been suffering from declining utilization in recent years and last year utilization of the arena dropped to 34 percent. Using a metric called the Facilities Condition Index (FCI) the arena has a rating of 19 percent which classifies it as “poor.”
The report notes that due to the COVID lockdown it is likely there will be further declines in utilization in the coming hockey season. Another factor that has affected attendance was the construction of a private triple pad ice arena (Gateway Ice Centre) that opened in 2013 and has filled forecast need, but has also drawn community rentals away from the Stoney Creek rink.
Staff have undertaken a Recreation Master Plan to determine which arena facilities are surplus to community needs and should be decommissioned or repurposed, along with those that should be renewed or redeveloped. It doesn’t sound like Stoney Creek arena is a candidate for renewal.
Options for the facility could include:
• Taking the ice out and using the facility for ball hockey
- Teardown and replacement with an extra gymnasium for the adjacent Stoney Creek Recreation Centre.
- Demolition, which would relieve the city of ongoing operating costs
There is another possible option offered by the Glendale Curling club which no longer has a facility on Mt. Albion Road. The staff report says Glendale “are hoping to partner with the City and invest money into a City facility in Stoney Creek. The group claims that a partnership with the City would be cost effective and provide a much-needed destination point for local and visiting curlers with the additional promise of economic development spinoffs from curlers who come to the area to take part in bonspiels.”
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