‘We will get there’: volunteers hope to reopen Goderich Memorial Complex by early August

Renovations are underway to reopen Goderich’s Memorial arena, as the Goderich Memorial Community Complex, in Goderich, Ont. (Scott Miller/CTV News London)

Goderich’s Memorial Arena, means a lot to people in the shoreline town.

“It’s near and dear to everyone’s heart. We don’t want to see it go away. We’re going to make it stay,” says Goderich resident, Matt Hoy, Chair of the Goderich Memorial Community Complex Committee.

Built in 1949, as a tribute to Goderich’s war veterans, the building has hosted everything from Wayne Gretzky to Covid clinics. But, costly refrigeration upgrades meant the ice came out in 2018, and the centre abruptly closed in 2025, due to limited use and costly accessibility upgrades.

“The building was old, and it was tired, and the decision making didn’t take place fast enough to be able to maintain it. So, as a service organization, we can make things happen more efficiently, more cost effectively than what the municipality can. It’ll work for our community,” says Hoy.

In January, Goderich’s service groups joined forces to take over fixing up the former arena, and future operations of the Goderich Memorial Community Complex. Instead of hockey; shuffleboard, ball hockey, yoga classes, and farmer’s markets, will fill the building’s hallowed halls.

“Our intention with the building itself is to get the upstairs fully renovated, because we feel that that’s really good rentable space for us. and then start to work on the barn area. If everything goes as planned, we see our doors opening up in August of this year,” says President of the Goderich Memorial Community Complex Committee, Randy Carroll.

Transforming a 77-year-old shuttered arena, into a thriving community complex won’t come cheap. That’s why the volunteer committee headed by Carroll and Hoy, is about to embark on a $750,000 fundraising campaign.

“We’ve got a little over $20,000 in the bank, so far. But, we’re going to officially come out with our major fundraising campaign. We’ve had to put a lot of thought into it, because when you take a look at fundraising in this town, there’s been a lot of it happening over the past 12 to 18 months. So, we’re going to come up with a little bit of a different approach, which will launch, I would say mid-August by the time we’re ready to get moving,” says Carroll.

In the meantime, while the town retains ownership of the former arena, volunteers and local contractors, are doing the renovations they can, like painting, and cleaning, and planning for the future. A recent consultant’s report had lofty renovations for the old arena, costing between $11 to $14 million, but that isn’t the immediate focus. The immediate focus is to get the necessary work done, to get people back in the building, which could happen as early as August 2^nd, hopes Carroll.

“It’s like buying a house that, you know needs a lot of renovation, but you’re going to live in it as you’re doing it, right? So, that’s what we’re doing here,” says Carroll.

“It’s a fantastic building that just needs a wee bit of work, and we’ll get there, we will get there,” says Hoy.

Goderich Memorial Community Centre – A Place to Gather