Sault Ste. Marie to consider eliminating an outdoor skating surface

Dropping temperatures open Sault outdoor rinks Sault Ste. Marie city council has asked staff to review usage on outdoor rinks to see if any can be eliminated. Cory Nordstrom reports.

One ‘silver lining’ to come from the recent chilling temperatures seen across the northeast is that most outdoor rinks are now ready for use – however in Sault Ste. Marie, city council is looking at possibly eliminating some outdoor ice surfaces.

Sault city council has directed staff to review the use of its outdoor skating surfaces to see if any can be eliminated.

Brent Lamming is the city’s director of community services, he told CTV News his department has been asked to look at possibly reducing an ice surface and the cost value of the ones the city operates.

“Usually that (cost is) with respect to the staff that we have that maintain the rink from flooding and ongoing maintenance,” said Lamming.

“We also have security costs while it’s open."

According to the city’s statistics, an average of just under 30,000 users visit the Sault’s outdoor rinks and skating trails each year since they began tracking visits during the pandemic.

The city will use data from this and previous years to gauge the usage of the six outdoor skating amenities.

The staff’s review will also look to compare numbers with other northern cities like Thunder Bay, Sudbury, and North Bay.

Lamming said Sault Ste. Marie may have fewer outdoor rinks than other cities in the region, “but the ones we do have are well utilized.”

"The users of Sault Ste. Marie use our rinks quite heavily, every day,” he said.

Esposito Rink on Queen Street West has the lowest average usership according to the city.

Lamming said many youths use Esposito’s free ice surface to learn to skate or play hockey.

Area residents who spoke with CTV News said they hope no rinks are closed.

"If they close them then that will be pretty bad for the kids that are trying to learn," said one resident.

"Some people can't afford normal skating lessons and stuff," said another.

Most residents said they believe the benefits of the rinks outweigh the cost.

The city said the savings from eliminating an outdoor skating surface would be between $50,000 to $75,000 another option is to move to volunteer maintenance models for some of the surfaces like what is done in Greater Sudbury as an option to reduce costs without removing skating opportunities.

Staff will complete the report following this season and present it to council along with their recommendations before next year’s budget deliberations.