Arena fire near Campbellton big loss for minor hockey

The destruction of a skating arena that caught fire Friday afternoon near Campbellton, N.B., will be a big loss for the roughly 300 hockey players in the area.

The Arena Saint-Arthur was one of three rinks used by the local minor hockey association, according to Julie Ouellette, president of the Restigouche North Vikings.

"There's a lot of kids from the association that are from that community," she said. "And every kid in our association used thearena. So they're losing an ice surface, andall the memories and souvenirs that were made in that arena."

She said there are two weeks left in the season and the minor hockey association has managed to reschedule practices.

"For next season we're definitely going to need to sit down with the board of directors and figure out what we're going to do," Ouellette said.

A resident near the arena reported hearing a loud bang before the fire.The cause is not yet known.