Arena Collapse Raises Alarm Over City’s Aging rinks
Despite Fairview roof collapse, officials comfortable with inspection standards
As parents raise safety concerns around aging rinks after the Fairview Arena roof collapse, Hockey Calgary will be asking the city to revisit maintenance protocols on behalf of its more than 13,000 registered players.
But while city officials are open to reviews, they said Wednesday they remain comfortable with industry standards that only require inspections on arenas as old as Fairview once every five years.
The roof at the 46-year-old facility in the city’s southeast came crashing down Tuesday, only 24 hours after a hockey player heard a loud crack from the ceiling during an ice time, prompting staff to evacuate and shut down the building.
But parents and leaders in the hockey community wonder how close the collapse could have come to disaster, and whether pure luck prevented anyone from being injured.
“It’s terrifying to think what could have happened here,” said hockey mom Cindy Violi, adding that as a growing number of city arenas continue to age, parents will be worried about the safety of their kids.
“These buildings are frequented at all hours of the day, by kids and adults of all ages, and as your kids get older you will often just drop off and pick up, and you want to think they are safe.
“But what happened here is very disturbing. And I don’t think the city is doing enough to make sure there are no structural issues.”
Hockey Calgary president Kevin Kobelka said the organization will be asking the city to review safety inspection and maintenance protocols in light of the collapse.
“This is a really tough one. The challenge is that we have an aging infrastructure, and some of the older buildings are being retrofitted, but not all,” Kobelka said, confirming that Fairview Arena does hold games and practices for minor hockey groups, mostly with the Bow Valley and Blackfoot Minor Hockey Associations.
Ringette and teams with the Southern Alberta Women’s Hockey Association also play out of Fairview.
But as other inner-city rinks, from Henry Viney in Renfrew to Stu Peppard in Altadore, continue to age, Kobelka said the city should be examining safety inspection and maintenance schedules.
“You would think that the city will want to revisit safety protocols, and we’ll be asking about that for the safety of our members.”
But Greg Steinraths, manager for city recreation, said city staff are comfortable with industry standards that only require inspections every five years.
When it comes to inspecting other older arenas across the city, he said there are no immediate plans to examine aging infrastructure more closely or more often.
“We’re doing inspections every five years with our partners in our facilities. It gives us a good snapshot, and it’s a good representation of what’s going on. So, at this point, it’s a good approach.”
But when further pressed about reviewing safety protocols in light of the Fairview collapse, Steinraths said the city would be open to that once all investigations are complete at the Fairview site.
The building first needs to undergo a safety assessment evaluation before the city decides whether repairs are even worthwhile or whether the arena will be permanently shut down.
The building, constructed in 1972, was inspected in 2015 and was deemed safe. It wasn’t due again for inspection until 2020.
The Fairview collapse isn’t the first time a city-run arena has faced roof problems.
In 2013, Stu Peppard arena was closed for several months mid-season after an arena worker noticed structural problems, forcing the Calgary Royals Athletic Association to reschedule practices and games for their Bantam AAA and Midget AAA programs.
Mark Josefchak, CRAA president, said the 2013 shutdown was a huge challenge in terms of finding other arena space to allow elite players to practise every day as they normally do.
“Something like this impacts everybody in the hockey community because it means even less ice,” Josefchak said.
“But if the repercussions are that it prompts a safety review of a bunch of the older arenas, then that’s a good thing.”