The big East Hants balloon has been re-inflated.
“All the repairs have not been done,” Scott Forward, executive director of the East Hants Arena Association, said of the air-inflated dome that is part of the arena complex in Lantz. “Phase 1 was about getting it upright, inflated again and assessing the damage on the inside. That was completed almost a month ago now.”
The dome, a heavy vinyl canopy that covers the 100-by-60-metre artificial turf field below, was brought to the ground in a mid-March windstorm. The unrelenting wind caught a suspected minor hole in the canopy and ripped it into a gaping 20-by-12-metre breach.
The field regularly attracts about 1,400 users weekly, some of them just to walk the track that rims the field and others to play soccer, football, Frisbee, rugby, baseball, softball, field hockey and golf. All that activity has been shut down since the dome collapsed. A sign at the arena entrance Thursday announced a June 25 re-opening of the dome and thanked users for their continuedpatience. “I cannot say enough about our clients and our user groups,” Forward said. “They have been excellent as far as understanding goes.”
He said there is never a good time of year to be shut down for three months, but the forced closure came at a time that is not overly busy for the dome.
“As spring approaches, people are wanting to be outdoors more than they want to be indoors.
Certainly, people understand what we’ve been dealing with here. It certainly impacts some of our users but it is slow compared to our peak time, which would be November through to the end of March.”
One of about 2,000 air-inflated domes in North America, the East Hants facility was purchased from and assembled by the Farley Group of Ontario. Forward estimated that when the dome was added to the arena complex about six years ago, it cost about $3 million, including the excavation, preparation and artificial turf. The fabric that encloses the dome cost about $1.5 million. The Farley Group has worked on the repairs to the fabric and will continue to work on the installation of new lights and fixtures, Forward said.
“As far as moving forward, the lighting is what’s holding us up.
Basically the lighting system that had existed in the dome is completely destroyed.”
New lighting and lighting standards are being fabricated, he said.
“It’s about a 6-8-week process.
They’ve been ordered and we expect delivery by mid-June and we expect everything to be completed before the 25th.”
Soccer nets and storage sheds were also damaged by the weight of the fallen canopy. The turf was damaged slightly by compression. “The fibres that make up the field get compressed
to a point where it is not spongy anymore.
So that is not a major thing but it has to be addressed.”
Forward did not divulge the complex’s insurer but said the coverage has been excellent.
“The insurance company to date has been excellent to deal with and they’ve covered everything that we had in our premium. At this point, we’ve been covered 100 per cent for the loss.”
The arena expansion that brought the dome to East Hants also included a second ice surface, additional meeting rooms and a facelift in the main part of the building.
Planning to remove the ice from its second surface this weekend, the not-for-profit association that operates the arena will be looking for a revenue boost when the dome door swings open to the public. As part of its plan to pay down the renovation mortgage, the arena association charges $135 an hour for rental of one-third of the field and $325 an hour for the entire pitch.
Patrons are asked to deposit $2 to walk the track.
When users are all back on track, stormy weather will still leave Forward and staff holding their collective breaths.
“The worries have always been the same,” he said. “At the end of the day, we’re trying to hold a balloon on the ground. That’s really what we are doing. It’s an air-inflated structure. There is always potential.”
