‘Tight’ schedule to have Elliot Lake arena ready for September

Elliot Lake remains optimistic its arena will reopen by next September but delays with the exterior wall framing are tightening the spring work schedule.

There is still optimism in Elliot Lake that the Rogers Arena can open to users by Sept. 1, but the work schedule between now and then could be tight.

Elliot Lake city council got the latest project update from architect Chris Perry, who joined via Zoom on Monday night.

The arena has been closed since September 2023 due to major structural issues. The cost for repairs and upgrades is $23 million. This includes the project’s original $12 million budget and an additional $11.6 million approved by council in August.

Perry said he has asked designers and engineers on the project “to look at cost-saving measures without affecting the integrity of the structure.”

The presentation included renderings of the floor plan, offering a look at what the arena interior and exterior will look like once completed.

Will be a modern facility

The truss and columns, along with the foundation and piles, have all been completed. The exterior walls and bracing are being worked on now, while the concrete floor is pending.

“We are reconstructing the arena to current and future standards,” Perry said.

Structural engineers are on site working on framing exterior walls. Perry said he has expressed to them the urgency of getting the work done so other contractors can do their work inside the building.

“We’ve adjusted the schedule to accommodate the fluidity of the structural scope,” he said.

“I still am confident that we can work in and through it and get (the arena) closed up as soon as we can,”

Perry said the delay has “tightened the March window” when four separate contractors on supposed to be on the site.

“I was hoping not to have that situation, and that’s why we’re looking at some of the health and safety and legal issues about having multiple contractors doing work on the same project site,” he said.

Partial occupancy

He’s still hopeful for partial occupancy will be possible in September, with all the work expected to be completed by the end of that year.

“They have to redo (the exterior walls),” city councillor Rick Bull told CTV News in an interview on Tuesday.

“Everything was ripped out so now they have to rebuild them and they’re a little behind on that – a couple of weeks or more. Once that’s done, then everybody can get inside -- all the contractors -- and start doing all the interior work.”

The Rogers Arena will include a canopied entrance, a new lobby, renovated change rooms, new bleachers and a new Zamboni room, which is required to be fire separated.

“Once it’s done it’s going to be a state-of-the-art arena,” Bull said.

Mayor Andrew Wannan has asked Perry to provide regular updates on the arena.

“I think we’re getting a bit frustrated with not knowing things, as well,” Wannan said.

He asked Perry to come with the engineers and designers to the Dec. 22 council meeting for the next update.