Fieldhouse dome repair in Lantz to take weeks
There is no easy fix for the gigantic tear that felled the fieldhouse dome in Lantz.
“I think the first of June is a safe timeline at this point,” said Scott Forward, executive director of the East Hants Arena Association that oversees the dome and the adjacent sportsplex. “We could have a lot of things go really well and maybe beat that expectation by a couple of weeks. We could have a couple of setbacks and miss that expectation by a couple of weeks.”
The setback that sucked the life out of the air-inflated dome was a windstorm from three weeks past that caught a suspected small hole in the massive vinyl canopy and ripped it into a yawning 20-by-12-metre breach.
The direction the arena has followed since the dome collapse is to call in its insurance company and the dome manufacturer, the Farley Group of southwestern Ontario.
“It’s just a matter of how we go forward with consultation between us, the insurance company and the manufacturer,” Forward said.
“I don’t have any (insurance) definitives. We’re just not quite there yet. We are working with the insurance company. Options are being presented. It’s not a warranty situation. It would be similar to going out in your car and getting in a car accident. Warranty does not cover an accident. This is an accident based on Mother Nature.”
The dome was added to the arena complex about six years ago during an expansion that included a second ice surface, additional meeting rooms and a facelift in the main part of the building. Forward estimated that the dome cost about $3 million, including the excavation, prepar- ation and artificial turf. The fabric that covers the dome cost about $1.5 million.
Aside from the gaping tear, Forward said the dome has incurred multiple minor rips. The manufacturer is on board to repair the tears but it will take at least a month to get the dome off the ground and back in the air, at which time the tears and the potential damage underneath, to the artificial turf and the dome infrastructure, can be assessed.
“The problem is we have no idea what’s going on underneath. Until we get in the air, we won’t know that.”
In the meantime, the roughly 1,200-1,600 customers who use the dome each week are left without a facility to practise their soccer, football, frisbee, rugby, baseball, softball, field hockey and golf skills. Patrons, mostly seniors, can deposit $2 and walk the track around the perimeter for less-strenuous exercise.