Hockey arena project scrapped amid community rift in Windsor, N.S.

Town council in Windsor, N.S., has voted to withdraw from a multi-million dollar project to build a hockey arena amid division in the community, said Mayor Anna Allen.

At a special meeting Tuesday evening, the $9-million Long Pond arena project was scrapped after funding shortfalls and a "negative campaign being mounted by a select group of people," Allen said in a press release.

In an interview, she said a divide had emerged after the Windsor Agricultural Society submitted an alternate proposal last year to build a horse arena at the site of the Hants County Exhibition.

She said friendships started to fall apart over the rift.

"It made those who weren't in favour of the project, for whatever reasons, they had to really speak against this and they kinda almost got desperate in things they were doing," said Allen.

"And there are friends in my community who stopped talking to each other because of it. And there were other incidents like that. I don't want to live in a community like that. I'm not prepared to wreck friendships just because we think it's a good idea. We know it's a good idea at the end of the day."

Allen said it wouldn't be easy to raise money for the project in that environment.

The council is asking its chief administrative officer to identify how it can use its $1-million commitment to the project to support its hockey heritage goals.

Going forward, Allen said the council will focus its energy on amalgamation with the community of West Hants.

First announced in 2014, the Long Pond Hockey Heritage Centre was going to include a museum, arena and an indoor walking track. That proposal had a projected cost of $12.5 million.

Council voted to move forward with just an arena earlier this year, at the Long Pond site. Some consider Long Pond, near King's-Edgehill School, to be the birthplace of hockey.

The provincial government had committed $3 million to the project and the Municipality of West Hants committed $1 million.

Allen said there were too many factors at play to make the project workable, including a threat of West Hants withdrawing its funding.

"There was a lot of interference. It was like a good old hockey game," said Allen.

"We had some good support, but you've got anger in the community over this project. You've just got to walk away and say, 'We can't do this any longer.' For the sake of the community, we need to make it right."

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