Lakers fear loss of fan base
Lacrosse team urges city to get a second opinion on need to replace floor at the Memorial Centre next year
Peterborough Lakers officials say the city’s decision to tear out the Memorial Centre’s floor during the teams’ 2019 season could cost the Lakers their fan base.
“This franchise is really in danger and it’s not just next year, it’s the years after and the rebuilding,” said Brian Cowie, a member of Peterborough Century 21 Lakers board of directors.
City council voted Monday night to repair the Memorial Centre floor and replace the ice rink pad next year.
That means the Lakers will be displaced during the renovations, likely moving to the Evinrude Centre.
The Lakers board held a press conference at the Peterborough and District Sports Hall of Fame on Tuesday to address council’s decision, which will go back to city council for ratification Sept. 10.
Lakers board members are worried what the temporary closure will mean for the team and its fans.
They’re urging the city to get a second opinion before ripping the carpet out from under the team – yet they say their plight has been denied since day one.
“The city has yet to address the key request made by the Laker Lacrosse Club, the one organization most affected by a closure of this building,” said Tim Barrie, president of Peterborough Junior Lakers lacrosse club.
Board members said they even offered to cover the cost of a second opinion, but the city didn’t go for it.
In July 2016, a crack was found in an area of the concrete foundation wall beneath the ice surface.
Initially, an engineering firm recommended some repairs, which included one of the 22 support walls. The firm also certified the floor for use until July 2021.
The city then hired Carvajal Structural Engineers Inc. to monitor the crack for a year to see if it worsened. That went on from June 2017 to June 2018.
The crack didn’t get any worse over those 12 months, but the wall has structural deterioration, according to the engineer’s report.
Yet Barrie said there’s got to be a way to fix the problem without removing the entire floor.
“We’ve put people on the moon, I think we can figure out a way to cut a PVC pipe and rejoin it again,” he said.
City councillors agreed Monday on a new plan to reimburse the Lakers for the roughly $250,000 expected to be lost on ticket sales during the 2019 season.
The board, however, says they’ll be out much more than that if they move to the Evinrude.
It seats 800 people and the Lakers have 2,450 ticket holders. The Lakers average 3,000 fans each game, according to the board.
That means a loss of revenue and fans, Barrie said.
“Add that to the potential of damaging or even killing the Laker franchise,” Barrie said.
Board members also wonder why the city would put $3.5 million into a building that consultants in the Sport and Event Centre Study previously said wasn’t worth repairs, especially when a new twin pad arena is slated for the city. That leaves Laker officials with the same question they’ve been asking all along.
“What risk is there in getting other opinions?” Barrie said.