Latest delay in opening of new Simmons Sports Centre 'very disappointing'

The first puckwon't drop at the new Simmons Sports Centre in Charlottetown on Oct. 14after all.

The city said staff discovered they were unable to make ice after finding a leak coming from the floor on Tuesday afternoon.

The news means the expected opening date has to be pushed back.Coun. Mitchell Tweel, chair of the park, recreation and leisureactivities committee, informed council of the delay at its regular monthly meeting Tuesday evening.

"I hope it's just a small bump in the road. We didn't anticipate this happening," Tweel told CBC News after the meeting.

"We wanted to open October 14th. We really did."

Staff are working hard to fix the issue as quickly as possible, said Tweel, but there is still no timeline in place. The leak is in the equipment needed to make ice. Staff still need to find the exact cause and location.

"It's just something that happened here in the 11th hour," he said.

"It's very disappointing. I certainly apologize to all our community groups and user groups."

Tweel said staff have been in touch with some of those groups already and will continue to provide updates. He didn't want to speculate about what the delay could mean for them, though, until he had more information.

"We will see what the diagnosis is," he said.

"We have excellent professional staff, and we'll be working to deal with those challenges."

Previous hurdles

When the old Simmons Sports Centre, which was built more than 50 years ago, was scheduled to be replaced, the current location on North River Road was not the only choice for a new complex.

Residents effectively lobbied to have the new building constructed next to the old one.

Naming rights for the centrealso became an issue.

When it finally got the go-ahead, construction was delayed a year due to supply chain issues resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Simmons Sport Centre in Charlottetown is set to be demolished soon, and that has some residents feeling emotional as they remembered decades of fun in the rink. CBC's Aaron Adetuyi spoke with Beryl and Charlotte MacMillan during a flea market at the centre last week about why the arena is so special to them.

As of Monday, officials had expected the centre to open on Oct. 14. Before the issue with the ice, the remaining work included some landscaping, painting, furniture placement and a few other minor jobs. The stadium seats, an elevator and the Wi-Fi network have already been installed.

The new sports centre will be open year-round, and featuresan NHL-sized rink with seating for nearly 600 people, an indoor walking track and an outdoor swimming pool.

But users will have to wait a little longer before they can lace up their skates.