Calgary town raises concerns over damaged ice rink's insurance settlement

Residents frustrated that the payout is not going toward a replacement for the beloved recreation facility

Calgary town raises concerns over damaged ice rink's insurance settlement

Insurance News

By Lyle Adriano

Residents of the town of Fairview in southeast Calgary, Alberta, are disappointed that the funds left over from an insurance payout for a damaged local ice rink are not being used to replace the facility.

The roof of the Fairview Arena – built in 1972 – suddenly collapsed in February of last year, prompting the town to take out an insurance claim for the damage. But it was only last month that Calgary’s insurer finally completed the reimbursement after months of investigating the cause of the collapse. The undisclosed insurer finally relented to the claim after deciding to fund an external study on the incident.

As of June 17, city officials revealed that they had used only about $600,000 of the $4.9 million payout to cover costs related to demolishing the remainder of the arena and remediating the site.

Calgary Herald reported that the city has recently decided to use the leftover cash to commission a citywide ice allocation study, as well as to fund future recreation capital development projects – none of which involve rebuilding the ice rink.

Jennifer Symcox, who leads community facility planning for Calgary’s recreation, said that the city has moved away from constructing single-sheet ice rinks. Instead, it has turned its attention toward building larger, multi-purpose facilities.

“There’s a desire now for community hubs with multiple arenas,” Symcox told Calgary Herald. “When you look at the Fairview site, it’s too small to accommodate two ice surfaces.”

The decision not to rebuild has been devastating for some residents.

“What the city has told us is that none of that funding has been specifically earmarked for Fairview,” said Regan Klyn, president of the Fairview Community Association.

“The city’s decision not to rebuild is definitely disappointing — there’s definitely a sense of loss,” Klyn added, noting that some members of the neighbourhood were hoping for a replacement arena.

One of the community arena’s tenants, the Indefinite Arts Centre, has been cleared to return to whatever remains of its space. CEO Jung-Suk Ryu said that his group does not have any plans yet for the former arena site, but they are in the middle of a fundraising campaign to expand their facility.

“It’s not just a replacement for the existing facility, we’re building a multidisciplinary space that has in its values access and inclusion,” Ryu remarked.

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