The Frontenac Arena 2020/2021 season survived COVID, but not the ravages of time

Aug 26, 2020

After spending a month determining all the necessary protocols for re-opening, during the COVID-19 pandemic, and announcing and opening date, the Frontenac Community Arena will not be opening for the 20/21 season after all.

And it has nothing to do with COVID.

The decision to close down the arena for the year was the ultimate, and inevitable result of a chain of events that started to unfold just as the arena board was unveiling their re-opening plans.

Over the summer, some of the major elements of the ice making system had been replaced, as part of a capital equipment replacement plan.

“This included the replacement of the ammonia chiller, condenser and the brine pump,” said Tim Laprade, the arena manager.

Still in place, however, was the old in-floor system of 200 pipes, filled with a salt water brine that has been cooled to make the arena ice ever since the arena opened in 1976. The next phase of capital improvements, which was scheduled to get underway in early March of 2021, is slated to replace the existing floor and pipe system, as well as the boards and benches.

The arena board is hoping to receive a grant to help pay the nearly $1 million in costs for the project, which will transform the Frontenac Arena and set it up for the next 20-30 years. If the grant application is not successful, ratepayers in Central and South Frontenac will end up paying the cost.

For 20/21, the plan was to use the old pipes, with the new chiller and circulation pump, for one more season.

In order to make that happen, the old brine in the pipes, needed to be flushed out of the system. It was when that process got underway that the chain of events, leading to the closure for the season, was triggered.

“The contractor knew there would be some contamination, the headers at the end of the pipes had been replaced in the 90’s and the pipes have been there since the arena first opened. When the mechanic flushed the system, he found a lot more sediment that he anticipated. Usually you take a sample and send it to a lab to get a level of sediment but the sediment was so apparent in this case that we never even sent it to the lab,” said Laprade.

They did a second flush, but the sediment was still significant. Even though it was beyond the scope of the project, they flushed the system a third and a fourth time.

The contractor said that they were reluctant to introduce new refrigerant into the system and start it up because it was a threat to the new equipment that had just been installed, and the warranty on the equipment would be voided for that reason.

Laprade then asked the contractor to cut open the headers to see how bad it was, and then they opened up a couple of the pipes. The found caked on sediment.

“Even if we replaced the headers, which would take until the end of October, the risk is still there. That’s when we realised we are faced with closing up for the season,” said Laprade.

Replacing the entire floor and piping system is a six-month project, so even though Laprade will be proposing to the arena board that the project should be moved forward from its original March 2021 start, it will not be completed in time for the arena to open this season.

“It was a difficult decision, but. CIMCO, the company who supplied the new equipment, said they were not willing to put any refrigerant into this system because of the risk to the equipment, ultimately the decision was made for us,” he said.

“We contacted the leagues with the bad news and they have been very understanding although they are very disappointed. We have been working with them and all of the neighbouring townships to secure locations for the leagues to play their house league games this season. There are no traveling teams this year anyway because of COVID,” he added.

“The timing is very unfortunate, especially since the Frontenac Minor Hockey Association (FMHA) was already trying to plan a season around COVID with many unknowns,” said Al Pixley of the FMHA. “Tim Laprade has done everything possible to upgrade equipment over the last 6 years, equipment that was past it's life expectancy, and a 44 year old floor, with a 20-40 year life expectancy, got us this far so we can’t be too surprised.  

“The township is already helping us find ice in Stone Mills/Westport/Kingston.  We are all working hard and FMHA is very confident we will have a season.  Kids more than ever need hockey for their physical, but more importantly, their mental health.”

One of the extra complications this year is that some of the neighbouring arenas are still working on their own re-opening plans and some might stay closed this season because of the pandemic.

Pixley said that the FMHA hopes to be able to make an announcement about the new season in a week or two.

The Frontenac Girls Hockey Association (Frontenac Fury) posted a preliminary statement about their plans on their website.

“The Frontenac Fury Girls’ Hockey Association was already heavily involved in contingency planning for what the 2020-2021 hockey season might look like. This latest development has us adapting and adjusting our plans yet again. Since we were notified of the issue, we have been working with neighbouring centres to see if our hockey program might be accommodated elsewhere. We ask for your continued patience as we sort through some complex logistics.”