The central billboard of the Conrad-Parent arena in Sept-Îles, on the North Shore, was removed this week, the City having decided to carry out this work for safety reasons.
A failure of the restraint system was detected in recent months.
Correcting the problem would have cost too much, according to the City of Sept-Îles, whose objective is to keep the arena safe by injecting as little money as possible between now and its demolition in 2026.
“We should have had a study done for the roof structure here to ensure that the system was capable of still supporting the panel in a compliant and safe manner,” indicated the director of the City’s Recreation and Culture Department. from Sept-Îles, Noémie Gauthier.
Problems have been accumulating for years at the Conrad-Parent arena. The roof leaks in about twenty places. In addition, the refrigeration system is outdated. These problems occasionally force the cancellation of certain activities.
The recurring problems worry users, including the general manager of the Basques senior hockey league team, Nylan Bouchard.
“It’s been really critical for a few years. The roof is leaking, the surface has a hard time freezing. We have senior matches. We have to deal with that. We are always worried about whether it will be good or not,” said Nylan Bouchard.
The project to build a new arena will reach an important milestone in 10 days with the opening of tenders for its construction. This project, estimated at $56.6 million, has already obtained support from the Quebec government for an amount of $20 million.
“It’s quite exorbitant, we will agree. We turn between 50 and 60 million. It’s still a major project,” underlined Noémie Gauthier. “We are going to ask all entrepreneurs in the region to support us in this project, but I think it is very important. Two arenas are a minimum in Sept-Îles. »
The City of Sept-Îles plans to begin construction of the new arena in April 2025 for an opening in fall 2026.
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