Staff at the Town of Petrolia will explore the feasibility of adding a second ice surface at the Greenwood Recreation Centre to combat skyrocketing hockey registration rates.
This comes after capacity concerns were raised at a recent council meeting.
During a presentation, Vice President of the Lambton Attack Girls Hockey Association and mother of two hockey players, Kelly Bailey said there's a major need for more ice.
She said a new pad would have a "profound positive impact" for all of Lambton, including easing the strain on other rinks around the county.
"As we look at Petrolia's current population of over 6,000, which has grown by 4.7 per cent since 2016, it's clear our community is thriving," said Bailey. "By 2031, we are projected to exceed 7,000 residents. This growth brings both challenges and opportunities, particularly in our recreational facilities. One of the pillars of our town council's strategic plan is to enhance the remarkable quality of life for all local residents. Unfortunately, the current arena cannot accommodate the demand for ice time."
Bailey said the Petrolia Minor Hockey Association, Lambton Attack Girls Hockey Association, Petrolia Skating Club, and other associations are struggling with insufficient ice availability.
"The skating club, for instance, cannot host any Skate Canada events due to this lack of ice," she said. "They are turning young skaters away, stunting the growth of our future athletes and limiting economic opportunities. Lambton Attack is experiencing its highest enrollment ever, at 202 players yet many are left without adequate practice or game time in Petrolia. They're being forced to purchase ice further and further away from their home centre and outside of Lambton County. Lambton Attack aims to more than triple its current ice time, seeking to add an additional 20 hours per week in Petrolia."
Bailey said due to the lack of ice, the Attack weren't able to establish a U22 team and aren't capable of hosting tournaments.
"This not only affects our organization, but our community," said Bailey. "Hosting tournaments provides support to local businesses, and showcases what Petrolia has to offer."
Bailey also referenced how competitive hockey teams are forced to share the ice during their practices.
She said Petrolia Minor Hockey has 312 participants, spread across 19 teams, with just slightly more than 33 hours of ice time available each week.
"Think of that, a competitive hockey program that can't even schedule one practice and one game for each team every week," she said.
Bailey said the new ice pad would extend beyond just the winter months.
"It's not just an investment in sports, but an investment in community cohesion and wellbeing," she said. "Similar to the Moore Sports Complex, we would have the ability to keep the ice pad operational year-round. This opens up numerous opportunities, including renting it out for ball hockey or roller skating. We could also keep the ice in year-round on a single pad, and offer different events on the other pad."
The report, from Petrolia's Parks and Recreation Committee, will include information around contributions from surrounding municipalities that don't operate arenas but have residents that use Greenwood.
It will also look into fundraising initiatives, including but not limited to, expanding a fund specific for the project through the Petrolia Community Foundation.
Petrolia Mayor Brad Loosely supported the idea, and said there needs to be collaboration in order for such a project to become a reality.
"If we're looking at $15 million or $20 million or more to do a second facility, depending on where you put it, we could never afford that alone," said Loosley. "If the arena is getting to the stage where maybe one day it'll have to be replaced, it would be nice if we could put it somewhere where all the municipalities that don't have an arena would contribute to the operation and to build a facility."
An online community petition has already collected over 850 signatures.
In 2017, the 62-year-old arena underwent $549,000 in upgrades thanks in part to a $274,000 grant from the Ontario Trillium Foundation.
Work included the installation of new mechanical equipment, rink boards, safety netting, change rooms and benches, lobby and press box, and accessibility upgrades.
The arena received new seating and an elevator in 2012.