Rink at Queens Place to reopen Friday

Employees at Queens Place Emera Centre work on Tuesday to get the ice ready for skaters. (Rick Conrad photo)

By RICK CONRAD

The arena at Queens Place Emera Centre is set to reopen on Friday.

The Region of Queens made the announcement late Tuesday evening. 

The region announced on Dec. 29 that it had to cancel all on-ice activities immediately, until a new condenser could be installed.

The municipality had already planned to replace the ice-making equipment early in January, but it was forced to close the rink earlier than expected.

“Actually, ahead of the scheduled time when we thought it would be replaced,” Mayor Darlene Norman said Tuesday.

Cimco Refrigeration finished installing the new equipment on Jan. 5. Queens Place staff have been working since then to get the ice surface ready.

The new $255,000 unit is stainless steel. Norman said they expect it to last longer than the original unit, which had been operating since Queens Place opened in December 2011.

“So it should operate for many, many, many more years than the one we had to replace.”

The old condenser unit sits outside Queens Place Emera Centre on Tuesday. (Rick Conrad photo)

The rink’s regular users, such as Queens County Blades and the Queens County Minor Hockey Association, had to search for ice time elsewhere while the arena was shut down. 

The region notified groups of the planned shutdown in late November. 

While they said they were disappointed they couldn’t use their home rink, they adapted by using ice in other communities.

Melissa Robinson, an executive member with Queens County Blades, said she’s happy that the rink is open again.

“I think it’s great that we’re able to kind of get back in the swing of things, hopefully this Sunday,” she said Wednesday. “Originally, we weren’t supposed to have ice on Sunday, so it’s good that we’re back.”

Email: rickconradqccr@gmail.com