The NorWest Arena will re-open Sunday morning.
Thunder Bay Fire and Rescue and Oliver Paipoonge Fire and Emergency Services crews responded to a call about an ammonia leak at the arena on Highway 588 Wednesday morning after a rink attendant discovered it. Crews were brought in from Winnipeg, where a company there has the contract to do all maintenance, found the cause to be a cracked gasket.
“It’s my understanding that it was just plain wear, old age,” Oliver Paipoonge mayor Lucy Kloosterhaus said Saturday outside of the arena. “It was just a very small gasket but any ammonia leak is unacceptable.”
The goal was to have the arena open by Friday or Saturday but Kloosterhaus said crews are just now starting to prepare the ice surface.
“I did get a little flack from a family member who was supposed to play hockey today and couldn’t,” she said.
Although a few events were cancelled, the largest casualty from the leak is the arena’s concession stand. The Thunder Bay and District Health Unit said all of the food from the stand could have been contaminated and had to be destroyed. Kloosterhaus said it’s not expected to re-open until the New Year. The total cost of the leak, and loss of revenue, should be available in a week.
