Ste Anne arena’s future studied

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This article was published 21/08/2023 (636 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The future of Maurice Chaput Arena in Ste Anne is being studied after council approved spending $48,471 on a feasibility study by Verne Reimer Architecture.

The company may be familiar to Southeast residents. It has designed the Steinbach Aquatic Centre, the Southeast Event Centre now under construction, and plans for a new recreation centre in St Pierre.

The goal is to get an idea of whether the arena and curling rink should get upgrades and renovations in the next few years, or even if a brand new facility could be built.

“I’m not going into the feasibility with any preconceived notions or dreams. I generally want to see what suggestions and long-term ideas they have for us that would be the best fit, whether that’s a retrofit or new building in 20 years or whatever the case may be,” said Mayor Yvan St. Vincent.

“Whether it’s a new building or retrofit, we need a plan. And this is basically step one in that plan,” he added.

With the study, more money for more planning can be sought from the provincial and federal governments.

The mayor said he is not sure what the timeline would be on any work done on the old or a new arena. St. Vincent said how much longer the Maurice Chaput Arena can last with different types of work done to it will be part of the study.

“We have to decide whether that makes sense. It’s like an old car: do you keep putting money into it or do you look at other options if you’re told it’s not going to run much longer. And I honestly don’t know what to expect,” said St. Vincent.

“Our Town operations people say actually that the bones are really good in that arena, and maybe we can get away with a retrofit and make it feel almost new, right? I think the possibilities are endless when it comes to that,” he added.

But skaters in Ste Anne should not be sharpening their blades for a new rink just yet.

“If there’s a new arena here, that would be many years, probably a few decades away. So even if that is the plan, we’ve got to do something to get there,” said St. Vincent.

He added that the arena study is a separate part of a larger undertaking by the Town to take a look at the future of all its recreation facilities, from ball diamonds to soccer pitches.